tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352263427762940860.post6813690055376043687..comments2009-02-24T11:04:17.592+13:00Canterbury Atheistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09900223059660267657noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352263427762940860.post-713089426199634262009-02-24T09:25:00.000+13:002009-02-24T09:25:00.000+13:00&quot;Besides which, this trinity business only occurs in The New Testament &amp; not when the tracts referring to ‘us’ and ‘them’ were scribed.&quot;<BR/><BR/>Not really. The only unambiguous reference to the trinity in the New Testament that I am aware of is a forgery.<BR/><BR/>There is also the issue of those &quot;sons of god&quot; that pop up in Genesis and the book of Job. In Genesis these lesser deities mate with mortal women and create a race of giants prior to the Flood.Jameshttp://www.anatheist.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352263427762940860.post-67760406310432977972008-08-08T12:10:00.000+12:002008-08-08T12:10:00.000+12:00It points to the origins of Judaism in Canaanite polytheistic religion. The supreme god of the Canaanites was El, known as "father of the gods"; Elohim likely means "sons of El". Over time as Hebrew traditions evolved towards monotheism it became singularized. The origins of Yahweh are a little more mysterious, but it's possibly derived from the Babylonian god 'Ea' who was also part of a broad pantheon. I think it's probably fair to say that the Jewish god is a welding-together of various polytheistic Semitic deities. It's not surprising then that the earliest books of the Torah should contain traces of this polytheism.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11328493702558342726noreply@blogger.com