Holy Double Deity, Batman! The Many Gods Of The Bible

Psalms 82:1: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods…” and Psalms 86:8: “Among the gods [there is] none like unto thee, O Lord; neither [are there any works] like unto thy works.” KJV

Is there more than one god mentioned in the Bible? Seems the answer is a very loud YES! Here's a list. Now, don't call me a heretic or blasphemer or such. I'm just showing you what the Bible has to say on the subject. Ready? 

Thanks to The Atheist Foundation, Australia www.atheistfoundation.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=878 

Adrammelech II Kings 17:31 Sepharvite God. Anammelech II Kings 17:31 Sepharvite God. Ashima II Kings 17:30 Samaritan Moon Goddess. Ashtoreth I Kings 11:05 Canaanite Goddess. Baal I Kings 18:19 Canaanite God ("Lord") of fertility, vegitation, and storms. Baal-berith Judges 8:33 A regional variation/aspect of Baal. Baal-peor Numbers 25:03 Moabite regional variation/aspect of Baal. Baal-zebub Luke 11:19 Philistine/Ekronian regional variation/aspect of Baal. Baalim I Kings 18:18 Canaanite Gods ("Lords"), a collective of the different aspects of Baa. Bel Isiah 46:01 Assyrian/Babylonian/Sumerian God ("Lord"). Chemosh I Kings 11:07 Moabite war God. Dagon I Samuel 05:02 Philistine/Ekronian/Babylonian God of agriculture. Diana of the Ephesians Acts 19:35 Ephesian moon and nature Goddess ("Divine/Brilliant"). Jehovah Exodus 6:03 Hebrew God Jupiter Acts 14:12 Roman God (possibly derived from 'Zeus-pater', Father Zeus). Lucifer Isiah 14:12 ("Light-Bearer") Mercurius Acts 14:12 Otherwise known as the Roman God Mercury, God of communication and travel, and messenger of the Gods...which is probably why Paul was called this at Lystra. Milcom I Kings 11:05 Ammonite God Molech I Kings 11:07 Ammonite God, also called Moloch, most probably Baal-Hammon of Carthage. Nebo Isiah 46:01 Assyrian/Babylonian/Chaldean God of wisdom and writing, also called Nabu. Nergal II Kings 17:30 Cuth/Assyrian/Babylonian war and underworld God, also called Meshlamthea. Nibhaz II Kings 17:31 Avites God Nisroch II Kings 19:37 Assyrian God Rimmon II Kings 05:18 Babylonian/Syrian storm God involved (as Ramman) with the Deluge, according to Hebrew texts; also known as Ramman/Rammon. Succoth-benoth II Kings 17:30 Babylonian fertility Goddess ("She Who Produces Seed"), also known as Zarpanitu/Zerpanitum. Tammuz Ezekial 8:14 Assyrian/Babylonian God Tartak II Kings 17:31 Avites God

When Jesus Returns, Will You He Find You Where He Left You?

"...look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption 
draweth nigh." Luke 21:28


I often find it respectfully--and quietly--humorous when my religious friends point upward as they speak of heaven or when they talk of the direction from which their particular savior god will supposedly return. Upward. And then, downward to suggest the place where the bad people and their demonic leader will be imprisoned. Wow. What the heck does that even mean? Granted, the terms would be quite meaningful, say, in the 15th century. But we now know there really is no 'up' or 'down' in terms of the location of our planet or solar system.


Consider these interesting little numbers...


The earth is spinning on its axis at about 1000 miles per hour, give or take. One full spin, about 24 hours' worth, and you have an earth day. Then, the earth is also traveling around the sun. She's about 93 million miles out from the sun's surface and travels around it for nearly 600 million miles, making one earth year. Around 1.65 million miles per day. Pretty fast, don't you think?


What about the sun itself? It's particular location in the galaxy is spinning around the galactic center at close to 483 thousand miles per hour, taking nearly 225 million years to make one full orbit around that center. (Science believes our sun, during its existence, has made about 20 trips around the galaxy.)


Here's the best part. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is moving through space at around 1.3 million miles per hour. (Don't ask me how they figure that. I read the stuff but it was 'way over my head.)


So, what does all this mean? Simply, in any given second, we are hundreds of thousands, even millions of miles from where we were in the second before. We are literally shooting through space so fast that where we were yesterday is so far behind us, we can't even mentally consider the distance without someone steeped in such things to do the calculations. And then, only approximate ones.


Enter Jesus...


I'm wondering where Jesus is waiting to jump on board, to return as many think he will, for this thing they call The Rapture. How far out in heavenly space does he have to be in order to meet us when we get there? And then, how quickly will he have to move to land here before we're a million miles further out? I heard it once said that if Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection in the year 33 CE, traveling at the fastest known speed in the universe, the speed of light, he would still be only half way to the known edge of said universe. Which means that even if he turned around right now and headed back, it would take another two thousand years. Satire, of course, but still...


Silly? Maybe, but the main point is this: Everything is moving so fast and in many cases, so randomly, that the original religious idea of everything be firm, in one place under heaven, is too weird to consider now. The true source of the universe, it appears, is much more creative, more imaginative, more playful than any defined or quoted deity could ever be. And in all this incredible creation, why would the source of it be so fixed on this one little dot, this one little planet, that it would get so angry at times because the highest creatures on that planet aren't good little soldiers, obeying ancient rules and laws and regulations that are claimed to be direct revelation from said source? Turns out, it isn't. Lots of wild creative energy, but no anger.


What then, do we trust?


If I trust anything, I trust the mystery that brought this process into being. I couldn't have done it better if I'd thought of it myself. And as we probe, as we discover, it turns out that in all its seeming complexity, with a bit of determination--and a lot of math--it's simpler than anyone could imagine. 


Plus, in order for the universe to appreciate itself, it produced you, it produced me, it produced all kinds of ways of experiencing its own grandeur. For that, I am grateful


Simple. Elegant. Beautiful. Fun. And quite possible, Living.


It's our home. Forever.

The Spiritual Atheist Speaks: A Living Universe without a God of Religion

So, what's a spiritual atheist? Simply someone who does not believe in the traditional gods and goddess of religion, past or present, but allows for the possibility that somehow the universe is deliberate. We often are criticized by both believers and regular atheists alike. But that's OK. We're always open to new information. And so far, there has been no significant proof to the contrary.


Having said that, I prefer the minds of the atheists over the believers, though. Why? They think more. They aren't as closed. In fact, here is a small selection of quotes from a great little site called The Daily Atheist Quote:


Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? Epicurus


There once was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages. Richard Lederer


It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. Mark Twain


If you want to entertain yourself, or enrage yourself, with more of these little tidbits, just go to:


http://dailyatheistquote.com/list.aspx

The Spiritual Atheist: An Intelligent Universe without a God of Religion

I am a spiritual atheist,* which simply means that I do not believe in any kind of deity per se, but I do accept the universe as deliberate. That's where I end the comparison to any kind of religion. From that point forward, I turn to science.


Atheists have been accused of being angry 'disbelievers.' But that is a great misnomer. Atheists are acutely aware that we must create a deep sense of morality, since we cannot depend upon "Revealed Word" of "Inerrant Heavenly Law" to guide us on this journey. 


Atheists are among the most moral, caring, giving, and freedom loving people on the planet. We are also aware that many people loathe the idea that we can create a true sense of interconnection without some kind of outside deity, or even an inner deity for that matter. And we can and do love deeply.


Most atheists favor pro-choice, gay rights, racial equality, financial and opportunity equity, and of course, freedom of and from religion. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.


The universe is our oyster.


*Click to find more info on this subject....

Science Discovers Super Earth - Will Christians Be Upset?

There's been the discovery of an earth-like rocky planet orbiting a star around 600 light years from us and appears it may have a lot of water, which is essential to life, at least as we know it.

When I was growing up in the evangelical churches, my Christian friends and leaders would often point out that there was no life anywhere else in the universe, that God in the form of Christ had come here because this is where God's attention was focused. The rest of the Cosmos was window dressing, for all intents and purposes, and beyond our comprehension. In fact, in 1969, many Christians thought that going to the moon was demon-inspired and that America would suffer greatly for the offense. But here we are, on the verge of some of the most amazing discoveries of this or any age.

So, as we get closer to discovering life in other parts of the galaxy, I'm wondering if Christians still think that we are the center of it all, if other planets are bound by the same inflexible religious beliefs of earth's millions of fundamentalists, or if we will ultimately be overrun by nasty, devilish aliens, out to prove that we are the inferior, sinful creature who brought all of the universe under God's condemnation. I'm sure they will let us know in due time.

I no longer follow that particular spiritual path, so I am personally very excited about the possibility of what awaits our prying eyes and brains 'out there' in the vast array of lights, gases, dust, rocks, and whatever else is flying through space at speeds almost incomprehensible. May I live to see the day when we finally meet up with 'the little green men' of Alpha Centauri. I jest, of course, but I really am giddy about the whole thing.

Each day we get closer to the real possibility that we are not alone in this vast universe. We don't know their forms, their ways of living and dealing with their worlds, or even if we can communicate with them. And we especially do not know their truths. We must be ready enough, hence, mature enough, to walk out onto the platform, raise our hands, say, "Hail," and pray they come in peace.

Either way, knowing that I don't know the consequences, I fervently welcome whatever is to come from these discoveries. The universe is my home. It would be nice to meet the neighbors.

Here's an excerpt from the recent post at Science Daily. You can click on the title to link to the whole story:

First Habitable Zone Super-Earth Discovered in Orbit Around Sun-like Star

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2011) — NASA's Kepler Mission has discovered the first super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a star similar to the Sun. A team of researchers, including Carnegie's Alan Boss, has discovered what could be a large, rocky planet with a surface temperature of about 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit), comparable to a comfortable spring day on Earth.