Confused about something... YHVH

[Jolixte]

I keep hearing about how people shouldn't take the Bible as being literal and then I see people saying that you shouldn't evoke YHVH because it says [[in the Bible]] that he was a god that believed himself to be above all others. But if the Bible was written by men and not YHVH, why are we taking their word for it that he is a mean, selfish god?

[anagarically]

God are created by those who conceive them, and take on the traits that are given them by their creators. This is just a personal theory, so please nobody get too up in arms about it. But the way I have worked it out, 'gods' are just ethereal beings, much the same as servitors, or elementals. They are also created in the same way, but what makes them different is that over time, they are now connected to MANY people and draw their energy from all who evoke thier name, or even hold them in their unconscious minds. All gods, that have ever been written about, believed in, or anything else, are real. When you worship or follow one god, or multiple, they gain their energy from you, but also, you are able to evoke their full power sometimes. The gods are given the traits of their creators, and take on the roles that are in the hearts, minds, and unconscious of those that believe and evoke them. So... the god of the bible, would have the traits of what has been given him, or at least what is still held true in his followers minds... that is my thoughts on this... but as i said... it is just personal babbling... sometimes makes sense... sometimes doesn't... but... oh well.. so... good luck...

[Ojuice5001]

Terminology first: A revelation is an act of communication whereby a god makes something about its own nature known to a human or group of humans. A myth is a revelation that takes the form of a story, especially if the story uses the gods as characters. So the stories in the Bible have the same relationship to literal truth as other myths from other cultures. So now we can formulate the question: What exactly is this relationship.

When someone says that myths aren't made to be taken literally, they mean that the story didn't literally happen. For instance, neither Noah nor Utnapishtim was a historical individual. But I don't think that the Bible, or Greek or Sumerian mythology, etc., was totally the artifact of men. I think that the gods of each territory of the ancient world wanted humans to have some idea of what they were like, and the myths were their means of doing this. The Greek gods inspired Greek mythology, and likewise Yahweh inspired the Bible.

Without revelations, humans would have had little specific idea of the nature of the gods ruling over their land. So if the purpose of the myths was to give people such an idea, then that means that the Bible is a fairly good guide to what kind of guy Yahweh is. Just like Greek mythology answers the same questions about the Greek gods. That's how I got to this conclusion, which is opposite to your conclusion that the Bible can't tell us anything about Yahweh.

[Bix]

I keep hearing about how people shouldn't take the Bible as being literal and then I see people saying that you shouldn't evoke YHVH because it says [[in the Bible]] that he was a god that believed himself to be above all others. But if the Bible was written by men and not YHVH, why are we taking their word for it that he is a mean, selfish god?
I don't think everyone believes that the god of the Bible is a selfish god. From what I've seen, people like to think the deities they're worshipping are nice beings.

[Morr]

i find that some pagans are bitter towards the bible and Y-H-V-H due to their experiences with Christianity and Judaism.

I do have a connection with Y-H-V-H and Shekhina and even Mary. Though I myself follow an Irish Recon. Path and I worship the Irish Pantheon of Gods on a daily basis, I do honor Y-H-V-H, Shekhina and Mary every now and then. Mainly because I have a Jewish background.

[Zophael]

It's up to you if you feel you should take it literally. You'll have some inconsistencies to reconcile if you do. Invoking YHWH is, again, a risk as is invoking any god.
Yes there sure is an issue with man being the one to write the Bible. Who knows what truth or lies lay in those pages. Don't forget the Bible today is a Roman collection with many books left out. I find the best thing to do is follow Christ's words. (this coming from a Satanist!) Look inside yourself for the answers because God put everything you need to know in your heart. There is no need for books or priests or temples according to Christ.

Oh, if you do believe in YHWH and believe in Revelations, then yes God is a mean son of a bitch.

[David19]

I'm not Christian or Jewish or Muslim, etc and i don't take the bible as literally, but i do think there's a lot of wisdom to be found in there (and a lot of mystical things, which was something i read on a Feri Tradition site).

I also think that the 'myths' have bits of truth in there so we know what the gods are like, and, after what a Aztec recon and Sumerian recon told me, i believe the physical world is a reflection of the spiritual/supernatural realms, so some of the things that appear in 'myths' may have happened just not in this realm (and i think some of the gods could come down to this plane/realm either through possession or taking on a corporeal form).

So, while the bible may not be 'literal', i think it helps give a view of Yahweh's character, e.g. that he's a jealous god, etc (that's not a 'bad' thing, as he never denies other gods as existing, just not to worship them next to or above him).