One God Has a Lot of Competition From Other Gods



I just read a long review in the New Yorker of three books devoted to the concept of monotheism. Going back to the earliest recorded history there has been a struggle between those who want to control their followers by admonishing there is only one god and the many other gods that come and go. Over time, many of the public in many countries at various times have needed more gods..

For those of us with limited backgrounds in ancient history, it is easy to surmise the struggle. The Old Testament, parts written up to something like 7,000 years BCE, contains the Commandment, Thou Shalt Have no Other Gods Before Me. I take from that there were other gods. They just needed to be ranked correctly. There is surviving written material suggesting all the people of the original Israel were not on board with this order and enjoyed some other gods.

Then Christianity comes along with an updated idea of the Jewish God. The God 2.0 was less prone to killing people than the previous version. But a problem showed up in the one God rule. There was Jesus so two gods. But wait! There's more. Add to those two gods the Holy Spirit for a total of three gods. "Why can't you understand," believers admonish, "The three gods are called the Trinity. Trinity is singular. The rules of grammar require us to believe there is only one god."

Monotheism when there is more than one god requires some gymnastics. It survives to a degree but when the public wants an extra god or two it hard to hang on. 

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