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Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker<\/a>\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined<\/em><\/a>\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking your worldview. You just going to let that stand? Or could you present a helpful new perspective that I\u2019ve ignored on one or two of those posts?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0He added in June 2017\u00a0in a combox<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cIf I\u2019ve misunderstood the Christian position or Christian arguments, point that out. Show me where I\u2019ve mischaracterized them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Delighted to oblige his wishes . . .<\/p>\n Bob (for the record) virtually\u00a0begged<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0pleaded<\/em>\u00a0with me to dialogue with him in May 2018, via email. But by\u00a010-3-18<\/a>,\u00a0following\u00a0massive, childish name-calling attacks<\/a>\u00a0against me,\u00a0 encouraged by Bob on his blog, he banned me from commenting there. I also banned him for violation of my\u00a0rules for discussion<\/a>, but (unlike him)\u00a0provided detailed\u00a0reasons<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0it was justified.<\/p>\n Bob\u2019s cowardly hypocrisy knows no bounds.\u00a0On 6-30-19<\/a>,\u00a0he was chiding someone for something very much like his own behavior:\u00a0\u201cSpoken like a true weasel trying to run away from a previous argument. You know, you could just say, \u2018Let me retract my previous statement of X\u2019 or something like that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Yeah,\u00a0Bob<\/em>\u00a0could!\u00a0\u00a0He still hasn\u2019t yet uttered one peep in reply<\/a>\u00a0to \u2014 now \u2014 69 of my critiques of his atrocious reasoning.<\/p>\n Bible-Basher Bob reiterated and rationalized his intellectual cowardice yet again on\u00a012-21-20:\u00a0\u201cI love people who can make cogent arguments against mine or point out data I hadn\u2019t considered before. What I dislike (and ban) are $#&*%@s who . . . refuse to learn\/adapt . . . ignore compelling arguments against their position, and so on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Bible-Basher Bob\u2019s words will be in\u00a0blue<\/span>.\u00a0To find these posts, follow this link:\u00a0\u201cSeidensticker Folly #\u201d<\/a>\u00a0or see all of them linked under his own section on my\u00a0Atheism page<\/a>.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n In his post, \u201cDefending 10 Atheist Arguments (3 of 5)\u201d<\/a> (1-30-21). Bible-Basher Bob again beats the dead horse of a supposed \u201chenotheism\u201d taught in the Bible. Henotheism<\/a> is a variant of polytheism<\/a> (\u201cmany gods\u201d), defined as \u201cthe worship of a single, overarching\u00a0god\u00a0while not denying the existence or possible existence of other lower\u00a0deities\u201d (Wikipedia<\/a>). Bob \u2014 incredibly \u2014 claims that the Bible actually teaches this. I thoroughly corrected and refuted him twice, over two years ago now (I\u2019ll provide those links below), but as we all know, he ignores all critiques from me (can\u2019t be too careful!), and so goes on repeating the same tired, stupid, refuted claims (as if repeating a lie enough times magically makes it true).<\/p>\n In this effort, Bob is opposing\u00a0Tim Barnett of the Protestant\u00a0Stand to Reason<\/em>\u00a0apologetics ministry. Anyone but me<\/em>\u00a0(the one who provides a direct point-by-point rebuttal of his nonsense) . . . Bible-Basher Bob, ever the Bible expert (more than any Christian!) pontificates:<\/p>\n The Bible (at least part of it) imagines a world with multiple gods\u2014not just the Israelites\u2019 Yahweh, but Chemosh, Moloch, Marduk, Baal, and other ancient Mesopotamian deities. And these are (supposedly) real gods\u2014the Bible isn\u2019t saying, \u201cYahweh obviously exists, but those nutty Moabites worship their invented god Chemosh.\u201d There were multiple choices for a god but no good reason to pick one as preferable over another.<\/span><\/p>\n If we\u2019re taking the Bible as true, then these \u201cother gods\u201d were just as real as Yahweh. . . .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The first Commandment, \u201cYou shall have no other gods before me,\u201d doesn\u2019t say that there aren\u2019t other gods or even that they mustn\u2019t be worshipped! It simply says that Yahweh must be the primary god. . . .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is clear is that the Bible evolved over time.<\/span><\/p>\n The book of Isaiah was written in three parts, and this chapter is in the middle piece, written in the\u00a06th<\/sup>\u00a0century BCE. It\u2019s true that verse claims God is the only god, but by this time, henotheism had been replaced by monotheism. The Bible evolved.<\/span><\/p>\n This claim of \u201cbiblical evolution\u201d (in essential aspects, like the nature of God) is poppycock, and I have already refuted it:<\/p>\n Seidensticker Folly #20: An Evolving God in the OT?<\/a>\u00a0(God\u2019s Omnipotence, Omniscience, & Omnipresence in Early Bible Books & Ancient Jewish Understanding) [9-18-18]<\/p>\n . . . The Bible itself says that Yahweh is just one of many gods. The Bible documents the evolution of the supernatural from henotheism to monotheism, which shows that Yahweh is no more real than any of the others.<\/span><\/p>\n These are all lies, and I have refuted them repeatedly:<\/p>\n Seidensticker Folly #19: Torah & OT Teach Polytheism?<\/a>\u00a0[9-18-18]<\/p>\n Loftus Atheist Error #8: Ancient Jews, \u201cBody\u201d of God, & Polytheism\u00a0<\/a>[9-10-19]<\/p>\n Do the OT & NT Teach Polytheism or Henotheism?<\/a>\u00a0[7-1-20]<\/p>\n The Bible Teaches That Other \u201cGods\u201d are Imaginary<\/a>\u00a0[National Catholic Register<\/em>, 7-10-20]<\/p>\n Once the Mosaic Law is established, monotheism (one God and one God only) is crystal clear, and remains so throughout the Bible:<\/p>\n Exodus 8:10<\/strong>\u00a0(RSV) . .\u00a0there is\u00a0no one like the LORD our God.\u00a0(cf. 1 Chr 17:20; 2 Chr 6:14)<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 4:35, 39\u00a0<\/strong>To you it was shown, that you might know that\u00a0the LORD is God; there is\u00a0no other besides him. . . . [39] . . .\u00a0the LORD is God\u00a0in heaven above and on the earth beneath;\u00a0there is\u00a0<\/b>no other. (cf. Neh 9:6; 2 Sam 7:22; 1 Kgs 8:23; Is 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 14, 18, 21-22; 46:9; 47:8; Hos 13:4)<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 6:4\u00a0<\/b>Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD;\u00a0(cf. Mk 12:29; Jas 2:19)<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 32:39<\/strong>\u00a0See now that I, even I, am he,\u00a0and\u00a0there is no god beside me;\u00a0I kill and I make alive;\u00a0I wound and I heal;\u00a0and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.<\/p>\n Psalm 83:18<\/strong>\u00a0Let them know that\u00a0thou alone,\u00a0whose name is the LORD,\u00a0art the Most High\u00a0over all the earth.<\/p>\n Psalm 86:10<\/strong>\u00a0For thou art great and doest wondrous things,\u00a0thou alone art God.<\/p>\n Isaiah 37:20\u00a0<\/b>\u2026thou alone art the LORD. (cf. 37:16)<\/p>\n Isaiah 43:10\u00a0<\/b>\u2026Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.<\/p>\n Isaiah 44:8\u00a0<\/b>\u2026Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any. (cf. 44:6; 45:5-6, 21-22; 46:9; Mal 2:10)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And the Bible also explains beyond any doubt that the other \u201cgods\u201d being talked about are not real (only imagined to be by false worshipers). The Bible refers to them in the sense that\u00a0they exist in other religious belief-systems<\/em>: not because they exist\u00a0in fact or reality<\/em>. Obviously, these sorts of texts are saying that this is all these supposed \u201cgods\u201d are: wood and stone. They have no conscious existence. It\u2019s classic\u00a0idolatry<\/em>: that the Jews were judged for again and again throughout the period of the Old Testament:<\/p>\n Genesis 31:19<\/strong>\u00a0. . .\u00a0Rachel\u00a0stole\u00a0her father\u2019s\u00a0household gods.<\/p>\n Genesis 35:2, 4<\/strong>\u00a0So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, \u201cPut away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments; . . .\u00a0[4] So\u00a0they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and\u00a0Jacob hid them under the oak\u00a0which was near Shechem.<\/p>\n Exodus 20:23<\/strong>\u00a0You shall not make\u00a0gods of silver\u00a0to be with me,\u00a0nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.<\/p>\n Leviticus 19:4<\/strong>\u00a0Do not turn to\u00a0<\/b>idols\u00a0or\u00a0make for yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 4:27-28<\/strong>\u00a0And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.\u00a0[28] And there\u00a0you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of men\u2019s hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. (cf. 29:17; 1 Chr 16:26; Is 2:8, 20; 31:7; 37:19; 44:10, 15, 17; 46:6; Jer 1:16)<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 28:36\u00a0<\/strong>The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone. (cf. 28:64: \u201cother gods, of wood and stone\u201d)<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 32:17<\/strong>\u00a0They sacrificed to\u00a0demons which were no gods, . . .<\/p>\n 2 Kings 19:15-19\u00a0<\/strong>And Hezeki\u2019ah prayed before the LORD, and said: \u201cO LORD the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim,\u00a0thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth;\u00a0thou hast made heaven and earth.\u00a0[16] Incline thy ear, O LORD, and hear; open thy eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennach\u2019erib, which he has sent to mock the living God.\u00a0[17] Of a truth, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,\u00a0[18] and\u00a0have cast their gods into the fire;\u00a0for they were no gods, but the work of men\u2019s hands, wood and stone; therefore they were destroyed.\u00a0[19] So now, O LORD our God, save us, I beseech thee, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that\u00a0thou, O LORD, art God alone.\u201d (cf. Is 37:19; 45:20)<\/p>\n 2 Chronicles 13:9<\/strong>\u00a0. . .\u00a0Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes\u00a0a priest of what are\u00a0<\/b>no gods.<\/p>\n Psalm 40:4<\/strong>\u00a0. . .\u00a0those who go astray after\u00a0false\u00a0<\/b>gods!<\/p>\n Psalm 96:5<\/strong>\u00a0For\u00a0all the gods of the peoples are\u00a0<\/b>idols;\u00a0but the LORD made the heavens. (cf. 97:7; 115:4; 135:15)<\/p>\n Isaiah 37:19\u00a0<\/b>\u2026for they were no gods, but the work of men\u2019s hands, wood and stone.\u2026<\/p>\n Isaiah 44:10\u00a0<\/strong>Who fashions a god or casts an image, that is profitable for nothing?<\/p>\n Isaiah 44:15<\/strong>\u00a0. . .\u00a0he makes a god and worships it, he makes it a graven image and falls down before it.<\/p>\n Isaiah 44:17<\/strong>\u00a0And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol; and falls down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, \u201cDeliver me, for thou art my god!\u201d<\/p>\n Isaiah 46:6<\/strong>\u00a0Those who lavish gold from the purse,\u00a0and weigh out silver in the scales,\u00a0hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; Jeremiah 2:11<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Has a nation changed its gods,\u00a0even though they are\u00a0<\/b>no gods?\u00a0. . .<\/p>\n Jeremiah 5:7<\/strong>\u00a0. . .\u00a0Your children have forsaken me,\u00a0and have sworn by\u00a0those who are\u00a0<\/b>no gods. . . . (cf. 10:14)<\/p>\n Jeremiah 16:20\u00a0<\/strong>Can man\u00a0make for himself gods?\u00a0Such are no gods!\u00a0(cf. 51:17)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The New Testament is no different. The existence of these \u201cgods\u201d is denied by St. Paul:<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 8:4-6<\/strong>\u00a0Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that \u201can idol has no real existence,\u201d and that \u201cthere is no God but one.\u201d\u00a0[5] For although there may be\u00a0so-called gods\u00a0in heaven or on earth \u2014 as indeed there are many \u201cgods\u201d and many \u201clords\u201d \u2014\u00a0[6]\u00a0yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Galatians 4:8<\/strong>\u00a0Formerly, when you did not know God, you were\u00a0in bondage to\u00a0beings that by nature are no gods;<\/p>\n Ephesians 4:5-6\u00a0<\/strong>one Lord, one faith, one baptism,\u00a0[6] one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.<\/p>\n 1 Timothy 2:5\u00a0<\/strong>For there is one God, . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Some also claim that St. John in the book of Revelation is a henotheist or polytheist. I don\u2019t see how. The book of Revelation never includes the word \u201cgods\u201d a single time. Here\u2019s what it teaches:<\/p>\n Revelation 1:8\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega,\u201d says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/p>\n Photo credit:<\/strong> God the Father, as typically presented with dramatic license in art (since in the Bible He is a spirit)<\/span> [Pixabay<\/a> \/\u00a0Pixabay License<\/a>]<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking your worldview. You just going to let that stand? Or could you present a helpful new perspective that I\u2019ve ignored on one or two of those posts?\u201d\u00a0He added in June 2017\u00a0in a combox:\u00a0\u201cIf I\u2019ve misunderstood the Christian position […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":54498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[2519,1738,1043,745,258,335,525,4126,6519,1367,5552,6522,6537,6525,4066,4067,2148,193],"class_list":["post-54495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism-agnosticism","tag-alleged-biblical-contradictions","tag-anti-christian-bigotry","tag-anti-theism","tag-anti-theists","tag-atheism","tag-atheists","tag-bible-contradictions","tag-bob-seidensticker","tag-contradictions-in-the-bible","tag-critiques-of-christianity","tag-cross-examined","tag-divine-inspiration","tag-henotheism","tag-inerrant-bible","tag-infallible-bible","tag-inspired-bible","tag-monotheism","tag-polytheism"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nthen they fall down and worship!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n