My Sunday Thought for 060417: No Other Gods

"Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil;

and now, he might stretch out his hand, 

and take also from the tree of life, 

and eat, and live forever."

-- Genesis 3:22

Those in the congregation, who follow The Path, know my opinion of scripture and how much I love to quote those passages which cause clergy to bristle.  These would be any passage or contradiction which threatens the mind control organized religion maintains over their flock.  These interpretations are numerous for those of us not willing to belly up to the Kool Aid bar for cyanide laced refreshments, or act like lemmings following clergy off a cliff, the precipice which overlooks our own personal purgatory.

The following might seem like a continuation of an earlier post, Consider, If You Will..., which was inspired by my friend Bill Folsom. In a way, it is. In another way, I hope it creates more questions than answers and, as usual, makes the reader think and consider possibilities which are hidden somewhere out in left field, in the dark recesses of thought which our faith shies away from.

With this in mind, please enjoy the following humble offering, with my sincere thanks for giving up a moment of your time to do so.

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Genesis 1:26 states, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness," which not only bodes the question of who God was talking to, but why God would be so concerned when man became all he could be, or all that God must have intended, as stated in Genesis 1:27, "in His own image."  Yet there certainly seems to be concern of overreach, of an experiment gone too far, or not well thought out.  Since we've been taught God doesn't make mistakes, I have to ask, when does God's perfection garner concern?  For the omnipotent, perfect being, to realize a mistake, might be concerning, but the fruition of a perfect plan?  So, which is it?  Inquiring minds want to know, and wanting to know, knowledge, would seem to be the path we were put on from the very beginning.

"...the man has become like one of Us," is the first hint we have that God is not alone.  Is this declaration of God, set out in Genesis 3:22, confirmation of a successful experiment or the affirmation of its failure?  Was it intended that we become as gods, or did the omnipotent gods make a mistake?  God commanded that Adam and Eve not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as though telling a child not to do something isn't temptation enough.  Yet nowhere is it written they shouldn't "take also from the tree of life, and live forever," and yet it would seem God feared this transgression as well. 

There is much discussion of what was meant by God's statement, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness," but it seems to be well clarified in Genesis 5:3, "And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image..."  The statements, at this point, stand on their own merit as evidence that God intended us to be in His own image and likeness, just as any parent intends for their child.

So, let's get this story straight, because it verily reeks of heresy (or hearsay, for those Gentiles who fear excommunication).  We have a bunch of scientists (re: gods) who are attempting to enhance the aboriginal gene pool and, oops, make a mistake, probably not the first, while creating what they hope will be the perfect "righteous" life form.  It could be that one of the scientists (let's call him Satan) willfully violated a prime protocol.  The experiment having failed, and being adverse to murdering life, the other scientist open the entrance to the laboratory (Eden) and banish Adam and Eve to fend for themselves.  The offending scientist, and those few which support his views, are also banished from the Kingdom of Heaven, never to work at Eden Laboratories ever again.

"The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled."

-- Genesis 6:6

I offered that this is "probably not the first" mistake the scientists have made, because Cain, Adam's son, kills his brother Abel and "went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.  And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son - Enoch."  It would seem not only were Adam and Eve not the first human life forms, but there were actually enough humans to populate a city which Cain felt worth building.  One might argue, if you build it they will come.  I think he built it because - they were already there.  Could it be, the knowledge which Cain's genetic structure now possessed was the impetus which allowed him to build the city, perhaps the first city man had ever conceived?  So it might be these people were either all failed attempts, or the "gods" were enhancing existing genetic material, already available on the planet, from lesser humanoids.

Regardless of our gullibility level, the question of multiple gods remains through scripture's own evidence.  Clergy is quick to interpret these stories in way which make little sense to anyone with a brain to reason.  History has forgotten God's wife, so why not attempt to erase knowledge of any other lesser gods?  It would be one way of ensuring any message or instruction passed down to us from on high is single source maintains clarity and uniformity in order to mitigate ambiguity which occurs when a message is passed through multiple sources.  If anyone wants an example, one simply has to look at media and news reporting, which can be more opinion than news, slanted to meet a particular political agenda instead of simply stating the truth per the facts as known.  In order to ensure this uniformity, God finally sends down an edict:

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me..."

-- Exodus 20:3-5

When God handed down the Ten Commandments to Moses, God began the commandments, as stated in Exodus 20:2-3, with: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”  This Commandment is the foundation for the next nine and, in particular, the first four which are summarized in Deuteronomy 6:5 as: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Agreeing with this summation, we read in Matthew 22:37-38: "Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."  One can but see the Creator's insistence that man will only seek answers and instructions from a single source, dictating loyalty and love to the same, and making all of this rule number one.

Do we violate the "no other gods" edict, this first and most holy of commandments, by making for ourselves "a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above" when we worship before an image of a crucified Jesus Christ?  I would have to say yes, but what else is new?  We read scripture and excuse our violations of it constantly.  We excuse it by our lack of understanding of everything Jesus told us while he was here on earth.  Most of this misunderstanding comes to us from ministers who spread these misunderstandings, these misinterpretations like so much cyanide laced Kool Aid.

"I love the good in all the religions and respect people's religious beliefs. But, I'm more a spiritual being rather than religious. I just have one god who has no religion. My spiritual journey has faith, discipline, courage, devotion and patience. Though I don't see the entire path, I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I fall, but I rise. I'll keep rising until I finally meet my destination."

-- Chanda Kaushik, writer, philosopher

Does this make my interpretation right?  No.  It simply evidences that I think for myself and choose to find God through my own interpretation of scripture.  I feel that we have all been set, our own path, on a path to find the great truth.  I also feel it is necessary to discover yourself, your own truth, before you can discover anything greater than yourself.  We have, indeed, become like gods, knowing of good and evil; and now, we stretch out our hand to search for the tree of everlasting life.  It was written into our genetic structure, whether by accident or design, and it is our destiny.  Personally, I think this one God is trying to show us the way, perhaps to correct a mistake or, just maybe, to show us how to become all we were intended to be.  

Maybe we should listen to Him?

"God is another name for human intelligence raised above all error and imperfection, and extended to all possible truth.

-- William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), Unitarian theologian

Is there only one God, one omnipotent and ever present deity?  Can we honestly give a name to a being we have been told has always existed and will exist forever more?  If so, how sad it must be to live a curse of forever, an eternity of being alone.  It makes me hope God does have companions, lesser gods and angels, with abilities on par with those powers which God wields to create such beauty and banish such evil in our world and the universe.  When it comes right down to it, no matter what your beliefs on God, perhaps simply living a peaceful, righteous life is all one can ask of themselves. Perhaps if we raise ourselves above all error and imperfection, we will, one day, discover the ultimate truth and, finally, understand the answer.

Until we can find the knowledge and discipline to accomplish becoming more than we currently are, we will continue chasing our tail and wondering what to do if we ever catch it.

Woof!

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 23 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with an Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects in pharmaceutical research.  Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, to wage his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as Chaplain Program Liaison, at a regional medical center.