It is not for us to question G!d's intent, but...

'Amir Alzzalam said:
The name Yahweh (yah-WEH) occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It appears in every book but Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Are you implying that Yahweh is not the name of the Abrahamic god of Christianity?
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It's the Name of God. Many times, an individual living in a polytheistic environment chose to worship only one God. This is told in the ancient traditions about Atrahasis/Noah and Abraham in the Semitic context, later Chaitanya in the Indian context. The transition from practical monotheism (we worship only one God) to philosophical monotheism (There's no God but JHWH) was gradual in Israel, completed latest with the Second Temple; A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada latest switched to identify Vishnu/Krishna being the only God.
Many people use the name of the former principal deity for the One God when polytheism was abandoned in favour of monotheism. Islam is the best-known example, but not the only one, Christian conversion in Africa the most prolific.

So, both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism see JHWH as the Name of the One God. I'm not surprised that the name existed in a polytheistic context (and also read about it, but not that the deity was a deity of war, not a principal deity is new to me; may try to read the reference you gave me.
 
talib-al-kalim said:
It's the Name of God. Many times, an individual living in a polytheistic environment chose to worship only one God. This is told in the ancient traditions about Atrahasis/Noah and Abraham in the Semitic context, later Chaitanya in the Indian context. The transition from practical monotheism (we worship only one God) to philosophical monotheism (There's no God but JHWH) was gradual in Israel, completed latest with the Second Temple; A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada latest switched to identify Vishnu/Krishna being the only God.
Many people use the name of the former principal deity for the One God when polytheism was abandoned in favour of monotheism. Islam is the best-known example, but not the only one, Christian conversion in Africa the most prolific.

So, both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism see JHWH as the Name of the One God. I'm not surprised that the name existed in a polytheistic context (and also read about it, but not that the deity was a deity of war, not a principal deity is new to me; may try to read the reference you gave me.
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You're not getting this . . . the name 'Yahweh' appeared in the final draft of the Christian bible however, the name itself can be traced thousands of years before the Vulgate, more than implying that the name Yahweh was carried over as one culture overthrew another culture, as cultures tended to demonize the prior culture that was conquered.

Now, perhaps, and this is a BIG perhaps, the same god of the Abrahamics is called Yahweh and has nothing to do with the prior Yahweh, but that is highly unlikely . . . the name Yahweh is not commonly used throughout history.

Makes me wonder why this Yahweh never introduced Itself and clearly identified Itself separately from the older Yahweh?
 
'Amir Alzzalam said:
Now, perhaps, and this is a BIG perhaps, the same god of the Abrahamics is called Yahweh and has nothing to do with the prior Yahweh, but that is highly unlikely . . . the name Yahweh is not commonly used throughout history.

Makes me wonder why this Yahweh never introduced Itself and clearly identified Itself separately from the older Yahweh?
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Have you actually read any of the scholarship on the matter?
 
'Amir Alzzalam said:
What kind of ignorant question is that? Have you bothered to read anything I have posted?
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LOL, it's not ignorant, it's insightful. The ignorance is all yours.

I only ask, because if you had, you'd realise your thesis is ill-founded.
 
'Amir Alzzalam said:
Why wouldn't your god allow critical thinking and Free Will?
Because your god is not THE god, is a typical ancient Near Eastern "divine warrior", who leads the heavenly army against Israel's enemies. He is a God of War, make no mistake.

The Jews and Christians both fashioned their God after an ancient pre-Islamic Arabian (3000 BC) deity. Yahweh was a North Arabian War God who was worshiped by the Semitic tribes living near the Gulf of Aqaba originating with the Midianite, Hebrew, Moabite, and Edomite tribes of southern Jordan and Palestine. Yahweh's consort was the fertility Goddess Ashira. (what happened to Her?)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/asherahasherim-bible
 
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'Amir Alzzalam said:
If your god is omniscient, as proposed in your book, then Man having free will is false, and the first example of this is the Garden of Eden episode . . . speaking of which

⦁ If God exists, then God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect.
⦁ If God is omnipotent, then God has the power to eliminate all evil.
⦁ If God is omniscient, then God knows when evil exists.
⦁ If God is morally perfect, then God has the desire to eliminate all evil.
⦁ However, Evil exists.
⦁ If evil exists and God exists, then either God doesn’t have the power to eliminate all evil, or doesn’t know when evil exists, or doesn’t have the desire to eliminate all Evil.
⦁ Conclusion: God Does Not Exist
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Clever, but nothing like this has ever ended the speculation about God and the afterworld, or even devotion. It hasn't even ended the certitude some faithful have. Volumes of theological works exist to wrestle with these very questions that you line up as a syllogism.
 
'Amir Alzzalam said:
I don't follow the reference . . . Sheeple is a term used for those of blind faith, who follow a religion because they are supposed to, and they rarely question it, they are like sheep, with a herd mentality.

Wolves are notorious loners, even when in packs.
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It think it's obviously the wolf in sheep's clothing
Meaning, IMHO, not to be too quick to think of anyone as a sheep lest they be the wolf in sheep's clothing
 
TheLightWithin said:
Clever, but nothing like this has ever ended the speculation about God and the afterworld, or even devotion. It hasn't even ended the certitude some faithful have. Volumes of theological works exist to wrestle with these very questions that you line up as a syllogism.
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Doesn't that say something about those Sheeple?
 
RabbiO said:
I need for you guys to be patient with me a little longer.
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Take care. I always look forward to hearing what you have to say. In the meantime it's always most important to take care of health and duties and other needful things.😇
 
TheLightWithin said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/asherahasherim-bible
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Interesting. Alexander Hislop in The Two Babylons, written in the mid 1800s, drew connections that placed a "Queen of Heaven" among the ancient forbidden religions, and from there to the Virgin Mary.

I do find it interesting, the time period mentioned is also Biblically when the King(s) of Israel were "apostate," and fallen away from what was considered the pure Jewish faith at the time. "(D)uring certain points in the ninth, eighth, and seventh centuries B.C.E." would have been after Solomon (who probably introduced some foreign influence late in his reign) and well onto the time of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
 
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