BibleForums Christian Message Board
Bible Talk => Theology => Topic started by: DLH on November 09, 2025, 10:07:28 AM
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The Hebrew word for God (el) and it's variations (elohim, El Gibbohr, etc.) means mighty, strong. The English word God (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_(word)) was first used by the pagans and then adopted for obvious reasons by the Christian missionaries, and means pour, libation, because that is what worship of the pagan gods involved. Liquid sacrifice literally and figuratively. Anoint, for example.
Theology, that is, the study of gods (Greek theologia θεολογία), seems to have failed miserably if it's merits are judged by what is known about the subject given instead, it seems, to mystery. Perhaps that is due to the common occidental theistic and atheistic practice of exclusive devotion to the Abrahamic concept. It's the most common form of religious devotion in the West, so that is the primary idea.
A God can be anything or anyone. Mortal man or spirit being.
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The Hebrew word for God (el) and it's variations (elohim, El Gibbohr, etc.) means mighty, strong
There are many other Hebrew words to denote "God" that do not use this form however.
Perhaps that is due to the common occidental theistic and atheistic practice of exclusive devotion to the Abrahamic concept.
I don't know what this means.
A God can be anything or anyone. Mortal man or spirit being.
For certain, the word "Elohim" can refer to human beings. See Exodus 7:1 for example. I do not agree that a human being is or can be God, or even a god.
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The Hebrew word for God (el) and it's variations (elohim, El Gibbohr, etc.) means mighty, strong. The English word God (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_(word)) was first used by the pagans and then adopted for obvious reasons by the Christian missionaries, and means pour, libation, because that is what worship of the pagan gods involved. Liquid sacrifice literally and figuratively. Anoint, for example.
Theology, that is, the study of gods (Greek theologia θεολογία), seems to have failed miserably if it's merits are judged by what is known about the subject given instead, it seems, to mystery. Perhaps that is due to the common occidental theistic and atheistic practice of exclusive devotion to the Abrahamic concept. It's the most common form of religious devotion in the West, so that is the primary idea.
A God can be anything or anyone. Mortal man or spirit being.
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
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A God can be anything or anyone. Mortal man or spirit being.
Etymology isn't ontology; otherwise, 'nice' would still mean 'ignorant' and butterflies would be dairy products.
Nice post.
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“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
Etymology isn't ontology; otherwise, 'nice' would still mean 'ignorant' and butterflies would be dairy products.
In every language ever known to man, in every time, every God had only one thing in common. One meaning. Mighty. Venerated. It doesn't matter if the god is mortal or immortal, fictional, or literal, supernatural or natural, good or evil, living or dead. It most only be, mighty and venerated.
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There are many other Hebrew words to denote "God" that do not use this form however.
Not sure what you mean by that. Are you talking about names and descriptions? Like elohim, Michael, Elijah?
Perhaps that is due to the common occidental theistic and atheistic practice of exclusive devotion to the Abrahamic concept.
I don't know what this means.
In Western culture the atheist take on God is almost exclusively a parody of the theistic - specifically Abrahamic - "sky daddy." The stereotypical magic supernatural creator. They don't see a god as Amaterasu, or Zeus.
For certain, the word "Elohim" can refer to human beings. See Exodus 7:1 for example. I do not agree that a human being is or can be God, or even a god.
The thing about me is that I know very little about modern day Jewish and Christian tradition. People think of those traditions as being scriptural but I don't. So, I don't see Exodus 7:1 where Jehovah makes Moses a god to Pharaoh as a problem or contradiction to the idea of human gods. Pharaohs were mortal gods. Moses was a mortal God. Jesus. The judges of Israel.
Given that, how, then, can your tradition, which I assume is Jewish, reconcile that a human can't be a god?
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In every language ever known to man, in every time, every God had only one thing in common. One meaning. Mighty. Venerated. It doesn't matter if the god is mortal or immortal, fictional, or literal, supernatural or natural, good or evil, living or dead. It most only be, mighty and venerated.
That's not true.
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In every language ever known to man, in every time, every God had only one thing in common. One meaning. Mighty. Venerated. It doesn't matter if the god is mortal or immortal, fictional, or literal, supernatural or natural, good or evil, living or dead. It most only be, mighty and venerated.
That's not true.
Show me.
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In every language ever known to man, in every time, every God had only one thing in common. One meaning. Mighty. Venerated. It doesn't matter if the god is mortal or immortal, fictional, or literal, supernatural or natural, good or evil, living or dead. It most only be, mighty and venerated.
That's not true.
Show me.
Buzzing in the air
Aristaeus hums along
Such a busy bee
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I’ll see your haiku and raise you a doggerel and a limerick
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I’ll see your haiku and raise you a doggerel and a limerick
An attempt at a doggerel...
Buzzing up high in the sun's hazy glare,
Aristaeus darts swiftly through shimmering air.
He hums as he goes,
Inspecting each rose --
A busy bee with not a moment to spare!
And a limerick, too --
Aristaeus was humming with glee,
As he buzzed through the warm summer breeze.
With a drone in the air,
He worked hard everywhere --
Such a tirelessly busy young bee!
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I’ll see your haiku and raise you a doggerel and a limerick
An attempt at a doggerel...
Buzzing up high in the sun's hazy glare,
Aristaeus darts swiftly through shimmering air.
He hums as he goes,
Inspecting each rose --
A busy bee with not a moment to spare!
And a limerick, too --
Aristaeus was humming with glee,
As he buzzed through the warm summer breeze.
With a drone in the air,
He worked hard everywhere --
Such a tirelessly busy young bee!
[Sigh]
Are you two finished? What is being proposed here? [Slams fist on desk] Are you proposing this . . . this . . . mythological culture hero as a god?! That doesn't fit the category I insist upon?!
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[Sigh]
Are you two finished?
Where's the fun in that? I didn't even get to couplets! Let's do that, and then if you have any requests I'll give it/them a go.
Buzzing up high in the sun’s golden glare,
Aristaeus darts swiftly through shimmering air.
He hums as he goes, inspecting each rose,
A busy bee with no time to doze.
What is being proposed here? [Slams fist on desk] Are you proposing this . . . this . . . mythological culture hero as a god?! That doesn't fit the category I insist upon?!
You asked for an answer to when I said the below is false. Well, Aristaeus is an answer to your question.
"In every language ever known to man, in every time, every God had only one thing in common. One meaning. Mighty. Venerated. It doesn't matter if the god is mortal or immortal, fictional, or literal, supernatural or natural, good or evil, living or dead. It most only be, mighty and venerated."
By the way, "[Slams fist on desk]" and what follows reads incredibly bizarrely. This isn't a manga, senpai.
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Not sure what you mean by that. Are you talking about names and descriptions? Like elohim, Michael, Elijah?
Surely someone as fluent and versed in Hebrew as you are knows that the word "Elohim" is not the only Hebrew word for "God". We have YHVH, and Adonai, and Shaddai, and Tzevaot, and Ehyeh. And that doesn't even take into account the poetic names. But you knew all this, right?
In Western culture the atheist take on God is almost exclusively a parody of the theistic - specifically Abrahamic - "sky daddy." The stereotypical magic supernatural creator. They don't see a god as Amaterasu, or Zeus.
I don't know what this means either.
For certain, the word "Elohim" can refer to human beings. See Exodus 7:1 for example. I do not agree that a human being is or can be God, or even a god.
The thing about me is that I know very little about modern day Jewish and Christian tradition. People think of those traditions as being scriptural but I don't. So, I don't see Exodus 7:1 where Jehovah makes Moses a god to Pharaoh as a problem or contradiction to the idea of human gods. Pharaohs were mortal gods. Moses was a mortal God. Jesus. The judges of Israel.
Uhh are a Christian?
I don't know what "mortal god" means.
Given that, how, then, can your tradition, which I assume is Jewish, reconcile that a human can't be a god?
Because no place in Judaism do we have a human god. Like your screed on Gen 1, you just made up a term.
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By the way, "[Slams fist on desk]" and what follows reads incredibly bizarrely. This isn't a manga, senpai.
Maybe he destroyed his keyboard in rage? That happened to me once when I was playing the original Baldur's Gate. You started with a level one character, and lemme tell you, it was super annoying when kobolds one-shot you.
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By the way, "[Slams fist on desk]" and what follows reads incredibly bizarrely. This isn't a manga, senpai.
Maybe he destroyed his keyboard in rage? That happened to me once when I was playing the original Baldur's Gate. You started with a level one character, and lemme tell you, it was super annoying when kobolds one-shot you.
GoG and remasters mean that experience is still very much frustratingly possible :) I have to play Baldur's Gate 3, now that you mention it.
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GoG and remasters mean that experience is still very much frustratingly possible
I actually bought that game for my phone, if you can believe it. I have no idea why. Throwing my expensive phone in a fit of rage is probably not a good idea.
I have to play Baldur's Gate 3, now that you mention it.
It is very good. Although my favorite in the series is still 2. Also, the combat is difficult even on the easy setting, they really expect you to think outside the box when using tactics.
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GoG and remasters mean that experience is still very much frustratingly possible
I actually bought that game for my phone, if you can believe it. I have no idea why. Throwing my expensive phone in a fit of rage is probably not a good idea.
I have to play Baldur's Gate 3, now that you mention it.
It is very good. Although my favorite in the series is still 2. Also, the combat is difficult even on the easy setting, they really expect you to think outside the box when using tactics.
I've heard very good things about it. I have BG3 it's just I got caught up in the Silent Hill 2 remake, then Cronos, and now Silent Hill F.
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I've heard very good things about it.
It's definitely worth your time.
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Surely someone as fluent and versed in Hebrew as you are knows that the word "Elohim" is not the only Hebrew word for "God". We have YHVH, and Adonai, and Shaddai, and Tzevaot, and Ehyeh. And that doesn't even take into account the poetic names. But you knew all this, right?
No. Like I said, I'm not particularly conversant in Jewish and Christian traditions, which came about after the Bible, the subject of my own interest.
YHVH isn't a Hebrew word for God, it's the personal name for a specific God. Adonai is a word meaning lord, not God. Though, you see the difficulty here is that you may disagree because of tradition. To you YHVH is God, and Lord. Shaddai is also not a word for God but a word meaning almighty. At Genesis 17:1 (https://biblehub.com/genesis/17-1.htm) the Hebrew says El Shaddai, which means God almighty, not God God.
In Western culture the atheist take on God is almost exclusively a parody of the theistic - specifically Abrahamic - "sky daddy." The stereotypical magic supernatural creator. They don't see a god as Amaterasu, or Zeus.
I don't know what this means either.
It means that in western culture the word God is typically limited according to Abrahamic traditions.
For certain, the word "Elohim" can refer to human beings. See Exodus 7:1 for example. I do not agree that a human being is or can be God, or even a god.
Uhh are a Christian?
What? Am I a Christian? No. I say that because I don't adhere to the "Christian" doctrine or creed, most of which actually comes from pagan sources and were only introduced only about 400 years after Christ. With, as I've said, Constantine like with the Jews, Alexander.
I don't know what "mortal god" means.
It means a god or God that is mortal. Zeus, the Japanese Royal family, Kim Jong-Un, Eric Clapton, Frodo Baggins, Moses, the judges of Israel, Jesus.
Given that, how, then, can your tradition, which I assume is Jewish, reconcile that a human can't be a god?
Because no place in Judaism do we have a human god. Like your screed on Gen 1, you just made up a term.
I did? Hmmm. Let's see, who said Elohim means god(s) and at Psalm 82:1 (https://biblehub.com/psalms/82-1.htm#lexicon)? Your tradition doesn't see this as Jehovah God almighty referring to the judges of Israel, mortal men, as gods i.e. mighty?
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No. Like I said, I'm not particularly conversant in Jewish and Christian traditions, which came about after the Bible
This is not "tradition", this is the plain text of the bible.
This came up here quite recently.
Exodus 6:3 וָֽאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶל־יַֽעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם
This is God speaking: "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with "El Shaddai" ("Almighty God"), but by My name YHVH, I did not become known to them."
YHVH isn't a Hebrew word for God, it's the personal name for a specific God.
How many gods are there?
Adonai is a word meaning lord, not God. Though, you see the difficulty here is that you may disagree because of tradition. To you YHVH is God, and Lord. Shaddai is also not a word for God but a word meaning almighty. At Genesis 17:1 (https://biblehub.com/genesis/17-1.htm) the Hebrew says El Shaddai, which means God almighty, not God God.
God has different names describing different attributes of His persona. "God Almighty", "Lord of Hosts", etc.
It means that in western culture the word God is typically limited according to Abrahamic traditions.
I don't know what this means, either.
What? Am I a Christian? No. I say that because I don't adhere to the "Christian" doctrine or creed, most of which actually comes from pagan sources and were only introduced only about 400 years after Christ.
Oh. So you invented your own religion, then. How nice.
It means a god or God that is mortal. Zeus, the Japanese Royal family, Kim Jong-Un, Eric Clapton, Frodo Baggins, Moses, the judges of Israel, Jesus.
Nobody worships Moses as a god. I don't know why you're including ordinary people or fictional characters. The status of Jesus you'll have to take up with the Christians here, who will tell you that he is immortal.
I did? Hmmm. Let's see, who said Elohim means god(s)
No, it doesn't. It simply refers to power. God said that he would make Moses "an Elohim to Pharoah", Moses was not promoted or ascended to godhood. You're taking words and making them mean what you want them to mean so that you can have fun justifying your own personal religion that you invented at some point in your life.
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Humpty Dumpty and Alice…