The Sunday Mail
Shingai Rukwata Ndoro
IN this article, there is an examination of the “concept of God” to determine if it is not just a human construct existing only in three places – human minds, oral traditions and written texts.
Anything that is real is “actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact, not imagined or supposed.” The word “real” is derived from Latin, “realis,” itself from Latin “res” for a thing.
Realistically, a deity can be defined as a universalised representation of the following:
Ignorance – what isn’t known about the universe, humanity and him/herself based on the scientific method.
Interiority – weak cognition as a) uncritical reasoning, “nous” (G#2372), b) infantile emotions, “thymos” (#G2372) and c) unachievable appetitive, passionate and aspirational drive, “pathos” (#G3806).
Raw masculinity of brute force – an alpha male disposition of a narcissist, psychopath, sadist and tyrant that craves for unquestioning compliance, obedience and submission.
Fatalism and incapacity to be causative – synonymous with insecurity, fear and vulnerability.
God
God is literally defined as “the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority.” A religion would then be defined as “the belief in and worship of a supernatural controlling power” for which the assumed deity, God, is such the supernatural power.
As a concept, “God” is three things: 1) a common Germanic (Teutonic) mythical ancestor (gott/gawd/gaud), 2) a Germanic “union, even sexual union (to mate)” (ghodh/ghadh) or 3) a deity of fortune and luck (gad) for the Syrians or Canaanites (Isaiah 65:11) associated with Greek Zeus (Strong’s Concordance #G2203) and Roman Jupiter, the sky-deity or the sun-deity.
Using the first reference, “God” is an anthropological or humanoid tribal figure imagined by some Europeans derived from the creative myths of ancient civilisations.
Before the importation of the Germanic term, “gott/gawd/gaud” into Christianity after the 5th century, Christians called their deity “deus” (Latin), derived from the word ‘deiuos’ which refers to the idea of a luminous sky or radiance. Latin “Deus” is derived from a Greek term, “theos.”
Theos
From the Greek “Theogony” (mythical origins and genealogy of deities), composed around 700 BCE by Hesiod, we learn about Greek cosmology. The tribal humanoid force assumed to have created and sustained the universe and life was generically called “theos” (#G2316).
Elohim
The earliest and commonest reference of a deity in Judaism is Elohim as found in Genesis 1:1 as, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” It was also revealed in Exodus 3:13; 6:3.
This means, wherever one finds “Elohim,” European Christians substituted that with “God” in the oldest English Bible (1382) by theologian John Wycliffe.
According to Strong’s Concordance, “Elohim” is a plural noun or “divinities in the ordinary sense” (#H430). Hebrews adopted the concept of a deity and term “Elohim” from Canaanites whose Ugaritic texts (14th century BCE) provide these details.
“The term expressing the simple notion of ‘deities’ in these texts is ilm…” In Ugaritic, vowels are not written except after a glottal stop, so “ilm” represents il?m. – “Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible” (2 ed.) p. 285.
In translating the Hebrew Scriptures into English, “Elohim” was translated variously as “God” (Genesis 1:1), “gods” (Genesis 3:5), “goddess” (1 Kings 11:5) and “angels” (Psalms 8:5).
Adopted from ancient Canaanites by Hebrews, “El” and “Eloah/Elohai” are tribal symbolic representations of cosmic masculine and feminine forces, respectively, and the word “Elohim” would imply a symbolical term for singularity or oneness of a duality.
Therefore, “Elohim” (Aleph-Lamed-He-Mem, “ALHM”) is a tribal symbolic representation of energy as having dual polarities – positive and negative energy, masculine and feminine disposition, and biological male and female.
Elohim is about a natural conjunction of harmonious opposites symbolised by the connection of “El” (masculine) and “Eloah” (feminine). This is primitive science showing that life is a creation of the fusion of masculine and feminine sexual energies.
Yahovah
The other Hebrew name for the deity is “Yahovah/Jehovah.” This is a combination of the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, and the vowels of Adonai, meaning “the Lord.” This would render it as “YaHoVaH.”
As a Tetragrammaton, YHVH is an abbreviation of four Hebrew words “Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey.”
In Judaic mysticism, the composite of YHVH is psychologically “Masculine-Feminine” combined to the biological “Male-Female.” This means the harmonious conjunction or combination of masculine and feminine sexual energies creates and sustains life.
“Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey” corresponds with the elements of nature – Fire (“Yod” or Passion), Air (“Hey,” Breath), Water (“Vav”) and Earth (second “Hey,” Physical Body). Consequently, humans are a microcosm and product of nature.
A further study of the Hebrew alphabetic pictographs of the four words, “Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey,” will further show hidden details.
From the above, a domineering deity (Supreme Being) and the associative or minor deities are human constructs. There is no evidence about the existence of a supreme deity.
As a formless variable or disembodied being, it is an assumption grounded in evolutionary human vulnerabilities, fears and insecurities.
Next, God as not even a “spirit” but a fictional male human figure.
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