Polytheism Confirmed - By the Bible Itself: Part One

There are way over 600 of God’s commandments regarding ‘thou shall’ and ‘thou shall not’ or ‘do this’ and ‘don’t do that’ or just plain ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ in the Bible. The top ten are of course the Ten Commandments. And what’s numero uno – number one – “Thou shall have no other gods before me”. That’s God first and foremost concern – “other gods”. In fact to reinforce commandment number one, commandments number two and three are variations on the exact same theme! Wow! As Sherlock Holmes might say, “The game is afoot”.

For a large part of the civilized world, monotheism rules because the Bible says so. Fortunately there are still cultures around with more commonsense and polytheism still rules. I say “more sense” because far from refuting polytheism the Bible confirms it. It’s monotheism that’s a myth.

People who put their religious money on monotheism, based say on the Bible, obviously also believe that polytheism is pure mythology. Monotheism is factual reality; polytheism is pure fiction. God exists; the gods don’t exist. Yet, those who profess the reality of monotheism based on the Bible, had better think twice about polytheism being myth, as that very book confirms the factual reality of polytheism as well. If you believe one you have to accept the other. 

Relatively few people put faith in the numerous texts from cultures around the world that detail the life and times, trials and tribulations and exploits (heroic or otherwise) of the polytheistic gods, goddesses and demigods. The gods don’t exist.

On the other hand, many people put faith in the text called the Bible (or related documents like the Koran) about the life and times of the monotheistic God. God exists.

However, the Bible, etc. is just one of those before mentioned numerous texts that confirm the reality of polytheism. Therefore, even if you put stock in only the Bible, you’ve still got to accept the reality of polytheism! That’s still the case even if the Bible doesn’t lend itself to specifics; specifics aren’t given; names aren’t usually named (why give space to your godly rivals?). So you won’t find often cited popular gods like Zeus or Odin or Quetzalcoatl mentioned by name. However, there are more than enough references to “other gods” and “the gods” or “their gods” or “gods of” to give polytheism the credibility it deserves. 

In fact there are 215 times that one lone word “gods” (not including something like “God’s”) appear in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, not to mention various other choice wordings that are suggestive of polytheism. Here are just a very few of them from the Old Testament followed by a few brief personal comments.

OLD TESTAMENT

*Deuteronomy 8:19: And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish

We have mortals who follow other gods, and therefore who must believe in their reality, otherwise, what’s the point.

*Exodus 12:12: For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

Excuse me, but how can God execute judgment against the gods of Egypt unless God Himself was convinced of their reality, and probably even knew them personally?

*Exodus 20:3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

If there are in fact no other gods, then there is no reason to make this one of the Ten Commandments. If fact if God has an obsession based on number of references in the Bible, it’s not with homosexuality, or adultery or sex of any kind for that matter, not even blasphemy nor crime – it’s those God damn “other gods”.  

*Exodus 34:14: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

The obvious question is, if other gods don’t exist, what need for God to be jealous. Why not just tell the great unwashed “there are no other gods, stupid” rather than seemingly endorse their existence?

*Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

We note the plurals “us” and “our”. So, the gods created humans, and since gods are an indication of the plural – English 101 - polytheism must be a fact.

*Genesis 3:5: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

This is the serpent’s advice to Eve, and he (as Satan, the fallen angel) should be aware whether or not there was but one God or many gods. He tells us with no possible ambiguity that there are “gods”.

*Genesis 3:22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

I draw to your attention the word “us” that God uses as he expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Just who is this “us”? Note also the reference to immortality, something the Greek/Roman pantheon has for example, as in fact do most mythological deities.

*Genesis 6:2: That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Now it’s clear to me at least that if God has sons, there either must be a Mrs. God, or God reproduces via parthenogenesis. In either case, the “sons of God” themselves must be deities. If there are deities, plural, because there are sons (plural), then that alone eliminates monotheism as there is more than one God. Nothing could be clearer. 

*Genesis 11:7: Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

This refers to the Tower of Babel situation where a pissed off God invents from whole cloth numerous other languages, passes them around, and ships most off to faraway places with strange sounding names. Except, please note the “us” that is used. It’s not “I will go down” but “let us go down”. 

*Jeremiah 7:9: Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

Not only do we have reference to “other gods” but also specifically to “Baal”. Baal was a god of the weather, agriculture, and basically ruler or king of the earth. He was especially a god of Ugarit, a city-state on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But Baal was also worshiped far and wide within Mesopotamia, down to and including Egypt, and by numerous kings of Israel from the third through to the first millennium BCE.

*Jeremiah 23:27: Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

Just in case you missed the point above, it’s Baal again. Baal is one of the few deities or ‘other gods’ specifically mentioned in the Bible.

*Joshua 24:19-20: And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

It’s again blatantly clear that God needs a good lie down. Not only is he jealous of “strange gods” but psychopathically jealous to the point where you get no mercy, forgiveness, compassion, love or any of the warm and fuzzy traits God is normally associated with if you don’t put Him first and only. 

*Judges 2:12: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

Here’s another one of 63 references to “other gods” in the KJV of the Bible. The fact that the phrase “other gods” occurred so frequently is surely a telling point in favour of there in fact being “other gods”.

*Judges 2:13: And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

Here’s yet another reference and some more about the god Baal who no doubt “they” considered real and worthy of serving.

*Judges 10:6: And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

Gods heaped upon gods heaped upon gods. God certainly is outnumbered by the Bible’s own admissions.

*1 Kings 11:5: For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Oh dear, is nothing sacred when even Solomon goes astray and starts forsaking God for other gods (and goddesses).

*1 Kings 11:33: Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

Wow, jackpot! Three of those “other gods” noted and logged and confirmed.

*1 Kings 22:53: For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

Here’s yet again another reference to Baal, but also note the one of many references (201 in fact) to “God of Israel”, meaning that the entire rest of Planet Earth was either deity free or ruled by those other gods. Well, the populations of the rest of Planet Earth weren’t deity free so God had to share domain over the third rock from the Sun. But some kids don’t like to play fair and share their toys.

*2 Kings 17:35: With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

I gather this is a rewording of one of those “thou shall not” Ten Commandments.

*Psalm 86:8: Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

God is being compared here to other gods, rather strange if indeed there are no other gods.

*Psalm 97:9: For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.

We have more comparison between God and the gods. This is sort of like ranking baseball teams – the Yankees are exalted by their achievements far above all other major league teams.

To be continued…