"Thou Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me"

[Zkribbler]

I understand the first six words of this Commandment. They make perfect sense in a monotheistic religion. --But what of the last two?? "Before me."

What are they there for? Is God saying it's okay to worship other gods as long as they come "after Him," that is, as long as He's Number One?

I know what I think. What do you folks think?

[BlackCat]

Bad translation ?

Edit: oh, no, forgot that accordingly to Ben, the bible is translated correctly to english

[chequita guevara]

Originally, the Hebrews believed there were other gods. They were only allowed to worship this one, however. Later, they came to deny the existence of all other gods.

[SlowwHand]

Yet another atheist discussion on religion.

[BlackCat]

Yet another atheist discussion on religion.

Well, we are the only one that can discuss religion without get into hissy fits

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well, we are the only one that can discuss religion without get into hissy fits

And is Zkrib an atheist?

[chequita guevara]

Yet another atheist discussion on religion.

We're more objective.

[Traianvs]

Originally, the Hebrews believed there were other gods. They were only allowed to worship this one, however. Later, they came to deny the existence of all other gods.

Well, Che's right about this one. The commandment made perfect sense back then. Yet another example why people should not take the bible too literally.

[loinburger]

I was reading about this recently in The Great Transformation. If I remember correctly Judaism wasn't monotheistic til around four hundred bce. Prior to that Yahweh was the esteemed local god, but other gods were still worshipped for their specific purviews (eg Yahweh was a warrior god, so the jews also had to worship a neighboring fertility god to ensure a good harvest)

[trev]

If I remember correctly Judaism wasn't monotheistic til around four hundred bce.

Wrong. Judaism was always a monotheistic religion, but many in the Israelite nation chose to worship other gods and practice other religions, sometimes in conjunction with Judaism. God's anger at this resulted in Israel being punished by the destruction of their temple and the exiling of the nation to Babylon.
In the heyday of the Israelite nation during the reign of King David monotheism was widely practiced, and during the time of Moses and Joshua, At other times they often went against the teachings of their own religion and incorporated polytheistic practices in their lives. However Judaism itself has always remained monotheistic, peole often ignored its teachings though and incorporated other teachings into their religious practices.
The same thing happens today as many 'Christians' include religious practices not mentioned in the Bible, likewise there are divisions of Islam which encourage practices not mentioned in the Koran, in particular some of the ****e sects among others, which is why the ****es and Sunnis fight each other.

[BlackCat]

Wrong. Judaism was always a monotheistic religion, but many in the Israelite nation chose to worship other gods and practice other religions, sometimes in conjunction with Judaism. God's anger at this resulted in Israel being punished by the destruction of their temple and the exiling of the nation to Babylon.
In the heyday of the Israelite nation during the reign of King David monotheism was widely practiced, and during the time of Moses and Joshua, At other times they often went against the teachings of their own religion and incorporated polytheistic practices in their lives. However Judaism itself has always remained monotheistic, peole often ignored its teachings though and incorporated other teachings into their religious practices.
The same thing happens today as many 'Christians' include religious practices not mentioned in the Bible, likewise there are divisions of Islam which encourage practices not mentioned in the Koran, in particular some of the ****e sects among others, which is why the ****es and Sunnis fight each other.

Maybe, but if god got into a hissy fit back then and made a lot of noise, why don't he do it now where things are even worse ?

[loinburger]

If somebody's only source for religious history is a (inerrant?) bible then the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the jews were always monotheists. History is written by the winners, and monotheism won.

[trev]

Maybe, but if god got into a hissy fit back then and made a lot of noise, why don't he do it now where things are even worse ?

He will, just giving a few more people time to repent. But if you read the prophecies in the book of Revelations, catatrosphic events are forecast to happen numerous times, single events in some instances killing 1/3 or 1/4 of the worlds population. The world will be punished, repent and avoid the punishment.

[Felch]

Will do. Am I supposed to sacrifice my first-born son or will I be provided with a ram?

[ZEE]

Any religion that uses fear to get results is bound to destroy the minds and lives of a culture foolish enough to embrace it.

Like America.