Jealous God

[Spiderman]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

 

[Sleeppy]

*Monotheism


A very human, unfortunately inaccurate description of monotheism; 'God must be jealous of all those non-existent gods receiving worship in His stead.'

 

[shunyadragon]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

In ancient world views of cultures, particularly the Middle East there is definitely rivalry of Gods between adversary cultures, and this projected into wars and conflict between tribes and kingdoms. The history of Judaism and the Hebrew people is a classic conflict of rivalry between Gods, and basically the Monotheism of the God described as Yahweh won out first as a henotheistic God above all Gods, and then the only God of the Hebrew people. The history of Greece and Rome reflects rivalry between Gods. Rome actually considered the Judeo Christian God a rival God, and described Christians as atheist concerning the existence of Roman Gods.

 

[Kenny]

There is good love and bad love. There is good jealousy and bad jealousy. There is good hate and bad hate.

 

[shunyadragon]

There is good love and bad love. There is good jealousy and bad jealousy. There is good hate and bad hate.

It is more likely that it simply reflects the ancient anthropomophic view of ancient Hebrews as a Divine world of rival Gods, which gradually evolved to monotheism dominating.

 

[Kenny]

It is more likely that it simply reflects the ancient anthropomophic view of ancient Hebrews as a Divine world of rival Gods, which gradually evolved to monotheism dominating.

There are also two ways to look at something!

 

[socharlie]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

Yahweh had a message for Israeli THEN. A message that lead to enhanced consciousness. So, FULL attention of Israeli was absolutely required. Example of Golden Calf was archetypal event. God set to isolate Israeli from foreign messages and concentrate attention onto God's message, for all generations to follow until consciousness had changed. You can not read Torah in your current state of consciousness, it was written for DIFFERENT type of consciousness. it was like you saying to your little kids " do not open door to a stranger - boogey man would get you".

 

[Nakosis]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

I suspect you have a love hate relationship with God. I suppose I went through that when examining the beliefs of my cultural religion.

I ended up decided I don't really know enough about God to know whether I should love God or hate God. If you're going to rely of scripture, you're relying on what other folks claim about God. I've been there before listening to what folks claim about someone else then if I take the time to actually get to know the individual to find the truth is nothing like what folks claimed about them.

Maybe there's a God, if so it's probably best to rely on my own actual experience of God than relying on what others have claimed about such a being.

 

[Phantasman]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

It isn't going to make sense in monotheism.

It works in gnosis.

"And having created [...] everything, he organized according to the model of the first aeons which had come into being, so that he might create them like the indestructible ones. Not because he had seen the indestructible ones, but the power in him, which he had taken from his mother, produced in him the likeness of the cosmos. And when he saw the creation which surrounds him, and the multitude of the angels around him which had come forth from him, he said to them, 'I am a jealous God, and there is no other God beside me.' But by announcing this he indicated to the angels who attended him that there exists another God. For if there were no other one, of whom would he be jealous?- Secret Book of John

The Demiurge tried to create perfect (Universe-man) but could not do what the true god (Father) could. In his ignorance he is imperfect. We seek the perfect Father. This is what Jesus taught of, and why he called the god the Jews followed a "liar and a murderer"

Matt 5:48

 

[TheBannerofHomuraAkemi]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

Man if something I created and gave life too started worshiping something else. I'd be pretty upset as well. I mean if they want to "whore" themselves out to other gods they best be ready to receive the back of my hand.

 

[gnostic]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

I have read a number of different non-Abrahamic literature of different religions (scriptures) and myths, from different ancient civilisations or different cultures, none of them tell of prohibitions of joining foreign religions or preventing people of worshipping foreign gods.

These literature often don’t mention other religions at all.

I did come across history (not scriptures) of only one non-Judaeo-Christian religion, where a ruler trying to prevent his subjects to worshipping their traditional gods. I am talking about Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, and his short-lived religion - Atenism.

Akhenaten was a 18th dynasty pharaoh of the 14th century BCE. He attempted to introduce monotheism, the worship of Aten, the sun disk.

The ban on worshipping other Egyptian gods were not on the religion itself, but political motivated one.

Before Akhenaten, Egyptians were quite tolerant of foreigner gods, even adopting some from western Semitic people, like from Syria and Canaan, eg Baal, Astarte, Anat, Qetesh, Reshep, and even eastern Semitic goddess, Ishtar.

And despite common misconception, EARLIER Romans BEFORE the rise of Christianity in the empire between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, were very accommodating to foreign gods.

 

[1213]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.....

According to the Bible, God created people and is jealous, if he loses his people. That is a sign of that He loves and cares and doesn’t want that anyone is lost. Therefore, I think jealousy in the case of God is not bad. If no other god doesn’t do so, it only shows they don’t really care and that people are not theirs. Similar thing than if husband is not jealous if he thinks he is losing his wife for other man.

 

[gnostic]

According to the Bible, God created people and is jealous, if he loses his people. That is a sign of that He loves and cares and doesn’t want that anyone is lost. Therefore, I think jealousy in the case of God is not bad.

It is bad when he punished them, for whatever reasons they may not believe in him or believe in some other deities. It is stated in the 2nd Commandment that he will punish children for his parents’ lack of faith or belief:

4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

That’s where I don’t think people should be punished for not believing. That’s not love, but slavery.

Do you seriously think that verses are not wrong?

 

[TheBannerofHomuraAkemi]

It is bad when he punished them, for whatever reasons they may not believe or believe in some other deities. It is stated in the 2nd Commandment that he will punish children for his parents’ lack of faith or belief:



That’s where I don’t think people should be punished for not believing. That’s not love, but slavery.

Do you seriously think that verses are not wrong?

While we has human find it wrong. God probably didn't. I mean he's God. He does what he wants.

 

[gnostic]

While we has human find it wrong. God probably didn't. I mean he's God. He does what he wants.

Sure, if God exist, he can do whatever he like, and no mortals can stop him.

But do whatever he may want, doesn't mean it is right thing to do.

If the story is true, it is wrong to tell Adam not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, by planting so near them in the Garden. If God is all-knowing, then WHY didn't God place an angel with the flaming sword, to guard against anyone coming near the forbidden Tree? If God truly wanted no one to eat from this Tree, then why planted it at its centre of Eden? I think God is partly responsible for what happen in Eden, because he didn't have the foresight to have any measure in place; it is wrong to punish Adam and Eve, for his own lack of wisdom and foresight.

If the story is true, then testing Abraham's faith and loyalty, by demanding him to sacrifice his son, is wrong, even though he intervened in the last instance, is still wrong.

And if the story is true, I think it is wrong to accept Satan's wager in making Job suffer. The story just made God looked petty and cruel. He even looked more petty and arrogant from chapters 38 to 41, in his reply to Job. He is like a wilful child, who would "I can do this, you can't!" In this story, God looks no better than Satan.

If God is real, then these examples of God's actions, demonstrated that I cannot possibly love a tyrannical deity like him. Fear him, yes, if he is real, but I couldn't worship such a petty God.

 

[TheBannerofHomuraAkemi]

Sure, if God exist, he can do whatever he like, and no mortals can stop him.

But do whatever he may want, doesn't mean it is right thing to do.

If the story is true, it is wrong to tell Adam not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, by planting so near them in the Garden. If God is all-knowing, then WHY didn't God place an angel with the flaming sword, to guard against anyone coming near the forbidden Tree? If God truly wanted no one to eat from this Tree, then why planted it at its centre of Eden? I think God is partly responsible for what happen in Eden, because he didn't have the foresight to have any measure in place; it is wrong to punish Adam and Eve, for his own lack of wisdom and foresight.

If the story is true, then testing Abraham's faith and loyalty, by demanding him to sacrifice his son, is wrong, even though he intervened in the last instance, is still wrong.

And if the story is true, I think it is wrong to accept Satan's wager in making Job suffer. The story just made God looked petty and cruel. He even looked more petty and arrogant from chapters 38 to 41, in his reply to Job. He is like a wilful child, who would "I can do this, you can't!" In this story, God looks no better than Satan.

If God is real, then these examples of God's actions, demonstrated that I cannot possibly love a tyrannical deity like him. Fear him, yes, if he is real, but I couldn't worship such a petty God.

I get where your coming from and I'm not going to waste your time spitting out a bunch of apologetic subjects, but I'm not. All I would like to say is that we could debate the moral compass of God all night, but unfortunately we have no power or will to deal out some kind retribution for God's faults and thats why my good friend I drink at night.

 

[Buddha Dharma]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

This kinda hits on why I think Yahweh was Prometheus, the opponent of Zeus and the Olympians. Greek lore tells us Prometheus wanted to be king, and was going to overthrow Kronos using humans, but when Zeus overthrew Kronos- Prometheus turned on him.

Prometheus was a Titan, but much less in power than Kronos- so Zeus forget it. We are told he brought humans fire in a cylinder, which I interpret to mean- he brought them a weapon to use on the gods. Prometheus was an egoist and simply felt he ought to be king.

I think some Christian gnostics remembered this story of Prometheus and said Yahweh is a demiurgic creator. We see in the Gospel of Truth and other Christian gnostic works- that Yahweh even turned on the other gods in jealousy, which Christian gnostics saw as being his sons and daughters.

I have my own views about this since I acknowledge the Vedic Prometheus obviously- Agni.

I believe that in a previous life Agni was this Prometheus, and he opposed the rule of Lord Indra/Zeus and the gods of Mount Meru/Olympus. However, as Agni he is a good and pure being. This connection of the two is through the Sanskrit word pramathia as an action of Agni- to bring forth fire.

I believe Hercules killed Prometheus (we read Hercules released Prometheus) and he was reborn as Agni. As I said- my very unusual, personal view. Unverified personal gnosis as polytheists say. I mention Agni anytime I have a chance to venerate fire. He is one of the protective Devas in traditional Buddhism.

 

[Thief]

Exodus 34:14
New International Version
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

I'm not so versed in Pagan Deities, but have read about them a bit, and not once remember one of them getting jealous about someone worshipping other gods.

Is this jealousy something you see in other Deities or unique to Yahweh? This jealousy of God and referring to Israel as whoring herself out to other gods bothers me.

I can see why people "whore themselves out to other gods".
The Bible doesn't paint a very good picture of Yahweh.

I'm still monotheist, but would be delighted to learn that the Bible is false and that the gods and goddesses exist. I'd prefer that over the angry, vengeful, jealous God of Scripture.

perhaps the word jealous was a mistake on the part of the writer

it seems to me......illogical to respect another god prior to a bent knee before the Almighty

 

[Thief]

Sure, if God exist, he can do whatever he like, and no mortals can stop him.

But do whatever he may want, doesn't mean it is right thing to do.

If the story is true, it is wrong to tell Adam not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, by planting so near them in the Garden. If God is all-knowing, then WHY didn't God place an angel with the flaming sword, to guard against anyone coming near the forbidden Tree? If God truly wanted no one to eat from this Tree, then why planted it at its centre of Eden? I think God is partly responsible for what happen in Eden, because he didn't have the foresight to have any measure in place; it is wrong to punish Adam and Eve, for his own lack of wisdom and foresight.

If the story is true, then testing Abraham's faith and loyalty, by demanding him to sacrifice his son, is wrong, even though he intervened in the last instance, is still wrong.

And if the story is true, I think it is wrong to accept Satan's wager in making Job suffer. The story just made God looked petty and cruel. He even looked more petty and arrogant from chapters 38 to 41, in his reply to Job. He is like a wilful child, who would "I can do this, you can't!" In this story, God looks no better than Satan.

If God is real, then these examples of God's actions, demonstrated that I cannot possibly love a tyrannical deity like him. Fear him, yes, if he is real, but I couldn't worship such a petty God.

it was a test.....to see if Man had a sufficient curiosity.

curious to know.....even if death is pending

such a mind set may be required .....as death is pending for us all

 

[gnostic]

it was a test.....to see if Man had a sufficient curiosity.

If it was test of curiosity, then there would be no need to punish them for eating the fruit. Clearly Eve was curious to know what knowledge what the Tree may give out, in spite of warning God to Adam earlier.

But the moral of story is not about curiosity, but about "obedience", to do what God say. That's the test that Adam and Eve had failed.

curious to know.....even if death is pending

Again, it has nothing to do with being "curious". When God tested Abraham, it was not just a test of faith, but about blind loyalty. He commanded Abraham to kill Isaac, and it would seem that Abraham have no remorse of doing as God say.

God may have spared Isaac, but I find Abraham's behaviour - his willingness to sacrifice his son for future rewards (ie God's covenant to Abraham) as the same as what we would call today, a sociopath and a fanatic.

such a mind set may be required .....as death is pending for us all

Do you mean having a mind set of petty and arrogant tyrant?

Sure, if you like a god who like to make people at whim...then he is perfect. God would be great role model for Stalin and Hitler.