What makes the Abrahamic God different?

[red strike 07]

What makes the Abrahamic (Christian, Islamic, Jewish) God different than the thousands of other Gods that have existed and been worshiped by earlier civilizations?

If it's faith, then it's no different.

No Christian on Earth can be certain that Jesus even wore a beard, much less that he was born of a virgin or rose from the dead.

To quote Carl Sagan "Extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence."

Ancient books are not extraordinary evidence.

But I'm not attacking anyone's beliefs, I'm just simply asking why the ones that believe think their God is different than Apollo or Zeus.

[I. Hustle]

What makes the Abrahamic (Christian, Islamic, Jewish) God different than the thousands of other Gods that have existed and been worshiped by earlier civilizations?

If it's faith, then it's no different.

No Christian on Earth can be certain that Jesus even wore a beard, much less that he was born of a virgin or rose from the dead.

To quote Carl Sagan "Extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence."

Ancient books are not extraordinary evidence.

But I'm not attacking anyone's beliefs, I'm just simply asking why the ones that believe think their God is different than Apollo or Zeus.

Firsties.




It's their faith that makes it different. Easy as that. They are certain of it because of faith.



Main Entry: 1faith
Pronunciation: \ˈfāth\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāthz\
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust — more at bide
Date: 13th century
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs



That is Webster definition.

[Drachen]

Firsties.




It's their faith that makes it different. Easy as that. They are certain of it because of faith.



Main Entry: 1faith
Pronunciation: \ˈfāth\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāthz\
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust — more at bide
Date: 13th century
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs



That is Webster definition.

Greeks had just as much faith in Zeus, Poseiden, etc. That is what the OP is saying, there is no difference. Faith has existed amongst the followers of thousands of gods throughout history.

[BacktoBasics]

Welcome the 42nd Edition of "That's So ing Obvious".

[MiamiHeat]

this has so never been done before.

i am stimulated, very stimulated by this discussion. sexually.

i meant, intellectually.

giggity goo

[z0sa]

Very true. I don't believe in any of our fairy tale made up gods that look and act a lot like human beings.

Jove is one badass god. Seriously though, the Greek gods are what made me cast off the shackles of man-made gods. Ever read the Iliad? They (the Greeks) believed that actually occurred when they studied it around the fifth century BC.

[Pero]

No Christian on Earth can be certain that Jesus even wore a beard, much less that he was born of a virgin or rose from the dead.

Had an interesting chat about this on another forum a while ago. Biologically practically impossible, but if it happened (and aliens didn't artifically impregnate Mary), theoretically possible with parthenogenesis. The catch is that Jesus could not have been anything else than a woman.

[Pero]

Very true. I don't believe in any of our fairy tale made up gods that look and act a lot like human beings.

That was one of the first things I stopped believing.

Jove is one badass god.

Who?

[z0sa]

Who?

Jove is Zeus is Jupiter, I just prefer the name Jove.

[Pero]

Jove is Zeus is Jupiter, I just prefer the name Jove.

In which language is Jove?

[JamStone]

I don't think the notion of a god is much different. But, obviously, there are differences among the faiths. With the "Abrahamic" god, the faith was predicated on a monotheistic faith. One god. Only one god. Omnipotent and creator of all. In many of the "ancient" faiths, there were numerous gods, moreover additional half-gods or semi-deities, and with varying powers, controlling varying aspects of life.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam viewed their god as the one, true, all-powerful supreme being. That's one of the main distinctions.

Beyond that, those religions established the notion of the one, true god having a special relationship with his "people." With some (not all) previous religions, gods acted on whims, moved humans like pawns, did what they wanted with disregard for how it affected people. While there are exceptions, for example Athena and how she watched over Athens and its citizens, in general, ancient gods acted as they wish with no reason, no mercy, no remorse. The "Abrahamic" god was/is viewed to act with reason and for his people. That's more of my opinion than anything else. He still carries wrath and vengeance. But, he also sets a standard to distinguish good and evil.

And perhaps that's one of the distinctions as well. There is a code for moral conduct. It's not just worship the gods or they'll strike you down. It's live life a certain way, do good, avoid evil.

I'm no religion expert or extremist when it comes to religion, but that's just how I see it. There are distinctions. People who believe in the "Abrahamic" god believe he's the one, true god. Whether there is enough proof of his existence is a matter of opinion. That's what faith is all about. Does it make Judaism, Christianity, and/or Islam better or more credible than any other religion? No. It's all a matter of what you believe in. But, there are definitely distinctions.

[z0sa]

In which language is Jove?

I couldn't tell you but I assume it's based from Latin. I remember the name specifically from Chapman's version of the Iliad.

Just checked wikipedia and they say this:

Jove[4] is a less common English formation based on Iov-, the stem of oblique cases of the Latin name.

[red strike 07]

I don't think the notion of a god is much different. But, obviously, there are differences among the faiths. With the "Abrahamic" god, the faith was predicated on a monotheistic faith. One god. Only one god. Omnipotent and creator of all. In many of the "ancient" faiths, there were numerous gods, moreover additional half-gods or semi-deities, and with varying powers, controlling varying aspects of life.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam viewed their god as the one, true, all-powerful supreme being. That's one of the main distinctions.

Beyond that, those religions established the notion of the one, true god having a special relationship with his "people." With some (not all) previous religions, gods acted on whims, moved humans like pawns, did what they wanted with disregard for how it affected people. While there are exceptions, for example Athena and how she watched over Athens and its citizens, in general, ancient gods acted as they wish with no reason, no mercy, no remorse. The "Abrahamic" god was/is viewed to act with reason and for his people. That's more of my opinion than anything else. He still carries wrath and vengeance. But, he also sets a standard to distinguish good and evil.

And perhaps that's one of the distinctions as well. There is a code for moral conduct. It's not just worship the gods or they'll strike you down. It's live life a certain way, do good, avoid evil.

I'm no religion expert or extremist when it comes to religion, but that's just how I see it. There are distinctions. People who believe in the "Abrahamic" god believe he's the one, true god. Whether there is enough proof of his existence is a matter of opinion. That's what faith is all about. Does it make Judaism, Christianity, and/or Islam better or more credible than any other religion? No. It's all a matter of what you believe in. But, there are definitely distinctions.

Good post,

But this also brings up another point in which I don't agree with, religious people claim to know that God created everything in the universe.

By saying that, they are claiming to know more than the best astronomers, physicists and cosmologists that ever walked on this earth.

[Pero]

I couldn't tell you but I assume it's based from Latin. I remember the name specifically from Chapman's version of the Iliad.

Just checked wikipedia and they say this:

Jove[4] is a less common English formation based on Iov-, the stem of oblique cases of the Latin name.

Interesting, thanks.

[z0sa]

Interesting, thanks.

I just always liked Jove better than zeus, though jupiter is a badass name too.

by jove! I wonder if that's where the saying came from.

[Pero]

I just always liked Jove better than zeus, though jupiter is a badass name too.

by jove! I wonder if that's where the saying came from.

What saying?

The only thing that has any connection with Jove for me is Jovo (and derivatives) which is a Slavic name. Though I wonder how you pronounce it. j as y?

[z0sa]

By saying that, they are claiming to know more than the best astronomers, physicists and cosmologists that ever walked on this earth.

The earth is like a grain of sand on a very, very long beach. Microbes on that grain of sand probably couldn't find out much even if they had the ability..

[z0sa]

What saying?

By jove!

The only thing that has any connection with Jove for me is Jovo (and derivatives) which is a Slavic name. Though I wonder how you pronounce it. j as y?

as far as I've ever heard, it's a j sound.

[dimsah]

for example Athena and how she watched over Athens and its citizens, in general, ancient gods acted as they wish with no reason, no mercy, no remorse.

Well, Athena did curse Medusa and transform her into a gorgon because she was raped by Poseidon inside the Parthenon.

[z0sa]

Poseidon

he's another good example of a god literally millions (of sailors) had unbreakable "faith" in because of his power over the seas.. lot of good that did them, considering the weatherman still can't get right 2500 years later.

[I. Hustle]

Greeks had just as much faith in Zeus, Poseiden, etc. That is what the OP is saying, there is no difference. Faith has existed amongst the followers of thousands of gods throughout history.

And what I meant was it is faith that makes it different to them.

[Pero]

By jove!

Do people there (in the US) still use this? Never heard of it before hehe.

he's another good example of a god literally millions (of sailors) had unbreakable "faith" in because of his power over the seas.. lot of good that did them, considering the weatherman still can't get right 2500 years later.

[z0sa]

i just changed my sig to a quote from the first line of the iliad

and yeah, I think the by jove thing is more british or northern US but I've heard it used before.

[MiamiHeat]

[exstatic]

The answer to the OP is "nothing". The Pantheon of ancient gods was replaced by the Abrahamic God (AG), which is now being morphed into/replaced by the god Money. See: Prosperity Gospel.

I think it's why the Fundamentalists of each stripe are so up in arms. The AG can't hold a candle to something that is tangible, countable, and predictable like Money.