Now that we have discussed authority, we need to discuss the concept of G-d and what that means. It was St. Thomas Aquinas who first began to designate the attributes of G-dhood. He said that G-d must be omnipotent, that is, all powerful; omniscient, that is, all knowing; and omnibenevolent, that is, all good. Does the Scriptures, that is, any of the scriptures, ever say that G-d is all these things? I think not. In fact, the G-d of scripture seems to have limits to his power, his knowledge, and his goodness. Perhaps the Scripture, archaeology, and mysticism can provide an answer to this problem.
There are beings in the world with great power. They have been given names by each culture. As we progressed in our religious teachings, some of these beings have been amalgamated into our religions in other forms. These beings are called elementals. An elemental is a preternatural being, with immense power, who was created by the True G-d and the Archangel of the Presence at the time when the souls of all sentient beings and the angels were created. They are immortal and although they can be "killed" it takes much to eradicate them. In the past some of these elementals have been given great names and called gods. Some with lesser powers have been called water nymphs, air sprites, salamanders, and fairies or brownies or leprechauns. They are aligned to the four elements: water, fire, earth, and air.
The Canaanite religion believed that there was a father god, the Creator. He was called El and given the titles Elyon, the Highest, and Shaddai, the Almighty. He had children and among his children were a god called Yahweh, another called Ba'al, and another called Ashirah. According to Genesis, Abraham worshiped a god named El. See Genesis 14:18. Exodus 6:2 makes the matter clearer; it says, "And the Elohim spoke to Mosheh and said to him, I am YHVH; I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai and not by my name, YHVH did I reveal Myself." The scholars talk about four writers of the Torah: the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly Source, and the Deuteronomist. It is clear from this passage that the Elohist was the earliest layer of the Torah. In rewriting the book of Exodus, the writer has to explain why he is using the name YHVH instead of El. Perhaps, the rather disingenuous attempt to gloss over this problem is too obvious. The G-d of Abraham, Yitzak, and Ya'akov was not YHVH. Therefore, all those things which have been attributed to YHVH are now up for grabs. Nonetheless, all of scriptural history is dependent upon understanding the relationship between El and YHVH. The archaeologists call the act of putting the attributes of El on YHVH, conflation. I think that implies something that is foreign to the scripture. The problem of El and YHVH can be solved differently and in many ways it satisfies the reason of man better.
The First Commandment in the Exodus version (Exodus 20) says: There shall not be for you any other gods besides me. The passage neither denies the existence of other gods nor gives a reason for this exclusivity. It merely says that this G-d brought the children of Israel out of bondage and therefore they should worship him alone. Now this god also in Exodus (23:20) introduces an Angel who has the Power of G-d. So, now we know that there is a G-d named YHVH, a G-d named El Shaddai, and an Angel with the Power of G-d. As late as the time of David, we still see this problem for it says in Psalm 82:1: El stands in the company of the gods, in the midst of the gods he judges. Clearly, the Great G-d is not YHVH, but El, who is called the Almighty and the Highest. Abraham did not worship YHVH, but El. So, the claim by YHVH through his prophet Mosheh, that he is the true G-d perhaps raises some doubts.
YHVH is shown to have emotions, limitations, and errors. He forgives and is wrathful. He builds and destroys. He shows that he is not perfect. But without doubt, he is powerful. So, what does that leave us.
Is it relevant that we do not worship the Great G-d, but rather his Son, YHVH? Is it important that YHVH might well be the Angel that leads the children of Israel? That Angel has the name of G-d on him, that is, he acts as G-d even though he is more like a prime minister.
The Kabbalah, specifically the Zohar, seems to answer the question. In the Zohar, we are introduced to the Ain Soph Aur, the Endless Light. This being is the source of all Light in the multiverses. He cooperates with another being called variously Adam Kadmon, The Ancient of Days, and the Archangel Metatron to create the visible and invisible universes that we live in. This Ain Soph Aur is above us and not apart of us and separated from us. He corresponds well to Newton's concept of G-d who is outside of the Universe and not a part of it. In the cosmology of Zohar, the Universe is governed by a council, much like the one in Psalms 82. The Council is led by YHVH whom the Zohar eventually reveals is the same as Metatron. He created with Ain Soph Aur the members of the Council and he governs them still. The other members of this Council are unnamed. Although the Zohar seems to limit them to nine other Archangels, there is no reason to believe that the other so-called gods are not a part of this council.
The Jewish sect called the Nasoreans, of which Yeshua was a member, believed in this Great God and in this somewhat lesser God who had all the authority of the Great God. They called him Yeshua, but they believed he was the reincarnation of Melchizedek who himself was the reincarnation of Enoch. That belief was widespread in the early Christian church as well and was enunciated by Arius of Alexandria and supported by a majority of the Bishops of the world including Eusebius of Caesaria, upon whom we are so dependent for early church history.
The idea of a Great God and his Lesser God, called the Demiurge, was well accepted among the Greeks as well and apparently Philo tried to explain standard Jewish doctrine to them in his writings.
Are we still bound by the political decision of King David which elevated YHVH to the Supreme God and ignored El? I think not. Both exist, both are powerful, both are worthy of adoration, but Truth is more important than anything else. It is time to rehabilitate El and recognize Him as the True G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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