this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 58 points 3 months ago (8 children)

If you read the old testament in particular, god never denies the existence of other gods, only that he's the best one. Yahweh was actually just one god in an ancient pre Jewish pantheon. He was like Dionysus, a god of harvest and wine and rebirth. Different tribes had different chief gods, but all accepted the existence of the others. Just happened over time that the people who worshipped Yahweh were the only ones left and it became a monotheistic religion.

I'm sure back in the day, those gods were more similar to Greek gods, flawed and monstrous, and entities to fear. That's why the old testament god is such a psychopath.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Do we know what/who the other gods were?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism

At the head of this pantheon was Yahweh, held in an especially high regard as the two Israelite kingdoms' national god.[3] Some scholars hold that the goddess Asherah was worshipped as Yahweh's consort,[3] though other scholars disagree.[4] Following this duo were second-tier gods and goddesses, such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte

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