Did the One True God Ever Talk to Polytheists

[PsychoticEpisode]

Which of the ancient gods, and there were many, would best fit God in the Christian/Judeo sense? If you are a believer then surely the one true God was being represented in those polytheist societies by one of those so-called mythological gods. It seems kind of odd that God would wait until a Jewish religion popped up just to make His presence known when all along He could have zoomed in at any time.

Does the one true God have nothing to say when people believe there are many gods but can't shut up when one group decides there is only one god? You would think that He would have had more to say to those with multi-deities. If He did talk to the polytheists then which god would He most likely have been?

 

[Cris]

Nice - a refreshing new perspective.

 

[lightgigantic]

Which of the ancient gods, and there were many, would best fit God in the Christian/Judeo sense? If you are a believer then surely the one true God was being represented in those polytheist societies by one of those so-called mythological gods. It seems kind of odd that God would wait until a Jewish religion popped up just to make His presence known when all along He could have zoomed in at any time.

Does the one true God have nothing to say when people believe there are many gods but can't shut up when one group decides there is only one god? You would think that He would have had more to say to those with multi-deities. If He did talk to the polytheists then which god would He most likely have been?

not necessarily - for instance in the the theogeny the greek pantheon are attributed to having emanated from the chos ("void" - where we get words like chasm)

IOW they are all attributed to being contingent on an immanent phenomena, as opposed to possessing an immanent quality.

Basically you find three grades of religiosity

1. animistic
2. polytheistic
3. monotheistic

the further down the list you go, the more greater the chance of serious philosophical issues being addressed

If a culture doesn't possess a monotheistic understanding, it simply reflects where they are at

For instance Plato seized the opportunity to determine the nature of the chos and thus attempt to address serious philosophical issues

 

[Hapsburg]

In the Judeo-Christian definition?

Hard to say. Differs from polytheism to polytheism.
Greeks: Chaos, the primordial "well" from which existence sprung.
Romans: Jupiter, paternal autocrat of everything; later eclipsed by Sol Invictus, another good candidate for a Roman concept of "supreme being".
Egyptians: Amun, or Amun-Re, the deity which the Jewish god was probably based.
Levantines: El, another deity which served as the basis for the Jewish god.
Gaels: The Dagda.
Gauls: Cernunnos, or Lugh. Difficult to tell, precisely.

Hypothetically, if such a supreme deity existed, it probably wouldn't care if other gods were venerated, as long as they were recognised as supreme above the other ones. Or, it was apathetic and didn't really care for what mortals believed.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

the further down the list you go, the more greater the chance of serious philosophical issues being addressed

If a culture doesn't possess a monotheistic understanding, it simply reflects where they are at

For instance Plato seized the opportunity to determine the nature of the chos and thus attempt to address serious philosophical issues

That's all fine and dandy but the monotheist's god must have been present. If so, where was He? It sounds like you're saying that God just bided His time until the Jews came along. Anything before that was like watching a cake rise. No guidance? No intimidation, threats, commandments? Why the wait to communicate? There are stories of the ancient gods communicating...are these to be attributed to the one true god or is it all mythology?

 

[lightgigantic]

That's all fine and dandy but the monotheist's god must have been present. If so, where was He? It sounds like you're saying that God just bided His time until the Jews came along. Anything before that was like watching a cake rise. No guidance? No intimidation, threats, commandments? Why the wait to communicate? There are stories of the ancient gods communicating...are these to be attributed to the one true god or is it all mythology?

coming to the stage of animism or polytheism is part of the cultural progress since these systems do offer guidance.

Just because there might exist an array of personalities greater than us, doesn't necessarily put them on the same platform of god, even though they may be offered the respect and worship usually reserved for such a personality

(BTW there are other ancient traditions of monism apart from judaism)

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

coming to the stage of animism or polytheism is part of the cultural progress since these systems do offer guidance.

Just because there might exist an array of personalities greater than us, doesn't necessarily put them on the same platform of god, even though they may be offered the respect and worship usually reserved for such a personality

(BTW there are other ancient traditions of monism apart from judaism)

You're dodging the question. Again, stories have been written about polytheist's gods communicating with the people, since the monotheist god is always present then is it the one true god that's communicating or is it all mythology?

To be fair, I realize this question is a tough one for the monotheist. You definitely can't say its mythology, I think you are smart enough to know why. You pretty much have to say that God is a least one of the voices in polytheist print.

What I find interesting is that the monotheistic Judeo/Christian is not the only group to have recorded the words spoken by their divinity(ies). Why should I believe God only spoke to your faith? What did the polytheists hear?

 

[lightgigantic]

You're dodging the question. Again, stories have been written about polytheist's gods communicating with the people, since the monotheist god is always present then is it the one true god that's communicating or is it all mythology?

or alternatively, it could be that they are simply communicating with personalities more advanced themselves (personalities who may even have designated sphere's of management of unimaginable proportions to us)

To be fair, I realize this question is a tough one for the monotheist. You definitely can't say its mythology, I think you are smart enough to know why. You pretty much have to say that God is a least one of the voices in polytheist print.

not really
in the vedas you have an array of demigods who are empowered living entities
and they are worshiped for various reasons

BG 7.20 Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.

and to top it off, you even have a class of worshiper who consciously avoids trying to worship God (Visnhu - or arguably Siva/Brahmajyoti just to appease any devil's advocates out there) simply because they know that this will put an end to their material desires

What I find interesting is that the monotheistic Judeo/Christian is not the only group to have recorded the words spoken by their divinity(ies). Why should I believe God only spoke to your faith? What did the polytheists hear?

something greater than themselves (or more correctly - something they think to be greater than themselves)

 

[lightgigantic]

There's even an incident where 4 sages are engaged in the worship of Lord Brahma (attributed with the engineering, or secondary creation, of the material world as opposed to the primary creation) as the absolute. One occasion they happen to encounter Lord Brahma worshiping Vishnu and their curiosity leads to inquiry that reforms their understanding of absolute.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Why should I believe God only spoke to your faith? What did the polytheists hear?

something greater than themselves (or more correctly - something they think to be greater than themselves)

I gave you too much credit. You've just put your foot in it. Not that the forebears of your faith ever doubted they were talking with God. They didn't just think it, did they? We are bordering on mythology now.

Why can't you say it was your God communicating with early polytheists?

 

[lightgigantic]

Why should I believe God only spoke to your faith? What did the polytheists hear?

philosophy might be a good place to start

I gave you too much credit. You've just put your foot in it. Not that the forebears of your faith ever doubted they were talking with God. They didn't just think it, did they? We are bordering on mythology now.

just simply to label something polytheistic (or even monotheistic) doesn't mean that it is automatically tenable

Why can't you say it was your God communicating with early polytheists?

because other options are also tenable -- as indicated by the anecdote with Lord Brahma

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

All those answers could just as easily come from an atheist.

 

[lightgigantic]

All those answers could just as easily come from an atheist.

so that means you agree?

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Not this atheist. You should rename yourself the Artful Dodger. Maybe there's a theist out there who can give me a straight answer.

I'm sitting here with a bit of smirk on my face. It's going to stay there until someone can explain why early polytheists wrote about communicating with gods. You know and I know there isn't much difference between your faith's writings about communication with a god and theirs.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Try a thorough reading of Genesis first before you start making comments like this, hmmm? The Bible does say "knowledge puffs up" but at this point your ignorance undermines/belies your arrogance.

Is this important? I'd like to sit here and trade insults with you but this is the internet, you are nothing more than words on a page. You know nothing about me, I could be 1 person, I could be many. You can't make assumptions about me even if you're pissed off. So shut your pie hole and stay on topic. Have you got anything intelligent to offer?

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

It is if you don't want to continue playing the part of an ignoramus.

I posed a question. I am not the one ignoring it. :shrug:

LG tried but he couldn't bring himself to say that the one true god may have talked with early polytheists. To do so would mean that any polytheist religion that includes divine communication is perfectly viable. He can't admit that early writing about polytheists communicating with a god is mythological because his own faith would come under the same scrutiny.

So why do both groups include communication with god(s) in their writings?

 

[Adstar]

Which of the ancient gods, and there were many, would best fit God in the Christian/Judeo sense? If you are a believer then surely the one true God was being represented in those polytheist societies by one of those so-called mythological gods. It seems kind of odd that God would wait until a Jewish religion popped up just to make His presence known when all along He could have zoomed in at any time.

Does the one true God have nothing to say when people believe there are many gods but can't shut up when one group decides there is only one god? You would think that He would have had more to say to those with multi-deities. If He did talk to the polytheists then which god would He most likely have been?

Firstly the Jewish religion really started from the time God came into contact with Abraham. But the scriptures reveal that God had contact with the human race, way before the times of Abraham. The book of genesis talks of the tower of Babel.

God did have a great influence on the peoples of the world but their rebellion caused them to be removed from God. It was only a matter of time before they took the influence of God and mixed it with their own thoughts and materialism and came up with their many and varied but curiously similar multi-god religions and traditions. Many people now try their best to use these similarities to try and put forward the belief that the Jews created their religion from the many religions that where in existence at the time, they point to the similarities to try and prove it. But the similarities are not proof that the Jewish religion was a construct influenced by other older religions.

What it does however show is that many of these religions separated by vast distances and geological barriers had a similar genesis. Their ancestors where united before the tower of Babel and one separated they developed similar religions by mixing the pre Babel influences with there own thoughts and environmental influences.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[lightgigantic]

Not this atheist. You should rename yourself the Artful Dodger. Maybe there's a theist out there who can give me a straight answer.

I'm sitting here with a bit of smirk on my face. It's going to stay there until someone can explain why early polytheists wrote about communicating with gods. You know and I know there isn't much difference between your faith's writings about communication with a god and theirs.

and you got an answer

- their worship of an assortment of higher personalities could be true but their taking these personalities to be the topmost figures in creation is not true.

You haven't explained why it is mandatory that monotheism reduce the players in this universe to two -

1. humanity (as we currently understand it)
2. and god

 

[nova900]

So why do both groups include communication with god(s) in their writings?

I look at all Gods and Goddesses in mythology as being non literal portrayals of God . Most polytheistic religions all have a '' source" from which their pantheon of Gods were derived. In Ancient Egypt it was referred to as the Neter..from which Ra, Tefnut,Geb,Aset,Asar and all others emanated.

I look upon them all as mans interpretation of God and each represents various aspects of God itself and creation.
I personally believe God throughout time and perhaps on countless worlds in the universe has communicated with beings in ways in which they could understand the concept of God.

Many many people who have claimed to had an NDE have encountered various Gods,Goddesses or other religous figures . I believe this is Gods way of appearing to people in a form they may feel comfortable with or have been brought up to believe is literaly God.
Perhaps people from all these different religions originally had inspiration from something like an NDE but their culture and habits no doubt influenced their relating this inspiration to others.

So, I think all religions in this respect share a commanality that makes them valid as connections to God.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

- their worship of an assortment of higher personalities could be true but their taking these personalities to be the topmost figures in creation is not true.

You're saying all polytheist stories are probably false, made up, not based on any fact, but many took the time to write countless stories about their non-existent gods.

This is not about who worships who. Just a comparison of two similar if not identical stories. Both refer to god actually taking time to physically communicate with us.

Let me ask you this: is any bible without references to a god actually making real verbal contact with humans worth the papyra its written on? Imagine there are no such stories contained within the OT. Well your faith falls apart. For the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians et al, actual god quotes acted like glue, holding the religion together but in the Judeo/Christian bible that isn't the case because Biblical quotes are the first words the one true god ever uttered to a human. How convenient.