A voice that sounded like her grandfather's instructed her to sit on a bench, though she believes the voice was God speaking to her in a form she would recognize.
He explains that this shift results in a thinning of the "veil" between human consciousness and the superconsciousness, often referred to as God or Spirit.
The practice of worshiping one god among a pantheon of gods is called henotheism.
Henotheism involves devotion to a single deity while acknowledging other gods' existence or potential worship.
This concept often occurs in polytheistic religions, where one god is emphasized as the primary focus of worship, personally or by a group, without necessarily denying the validity of the other deities in the pantheon.
Judaism is strictly monotheistic, meaning it asserts the belief in one, singular God.
In Judaism, there is a complete denial of the existence of other gods, affirming instead the absolute oneness of God.
The foundational Jewish prayer, the Shema ("Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one"), reflects this idea.
Thus, Judaism does not fit the definition of henotheism, as it does not acknowledge or accept the worship of any other deity besides the one God.
It teaches the belief in one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—often referred to as the Holy Trinity.
Although Catholicism venerates saints and honors figures such as the Virgin Mary, these individuals are not worshipped as gods.
The worship is directed exclusively to one God, while saints and Mary are venerated or prayed to for intercession.
Henotheism involves the exclusive worship of one god while acknowledging the possible existence of other gods, which is different from the strictly monotheistic beliefs of both Judaism and the Roman Catholic Church.
They both affirm a belief in only one God, without recognition of other gods in any theological sense.
However, the context in which these gods are mentioned differs significantly from a henotheistic acceptance of their worship.
These mentions do not imply that the Israelites accepted or worshiped these gods alongside their own deity.
Instead, the references to these other gods are usually framed in a negative context, often condemning their worship by the Israelites who had fallen into syncretistic practices.
The essential belief of Judaism is that there is only one true God, and the Bible portrays the worship of other gods as a violation of the covenant between the Israelites and their God (Yahweh).
Throughout the narrative, prophets and leaders, such as Elijah and Moses, urge the Israelites to abandon the worship of these false gods and return to the exclusive worship of Yahweh.
The First Commandment in the Ten Commandments explicitly states, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3), and throughout the Bible, the worship of other gods is considered idolatry, which is strongly condemned.
The existence of other gods is acknowledged in the sense that they were worshiped by surrounding peoples, but Judaism insists that these gods are not real or do not hold power like Yahweh, who is considered the only legitimate, all-powerful deity.
The monotheistic stance involves an insistence that other gods are ultimately powerless or false idols rather than legitimate divine beings.
There is some historical debate among scholars about early Israelite religion possibly being monolatrous—a form of religious practice where many gods are acknowledged but only one is worshiped exclusively.
Monolatry could resemble henotheism in that it involves focusing worship on one god without denying others, but eventually, the theological direction of Judaism moved away from that framework to deny the legitimacy of any other gods altogether.
Henotheism acknowledges other gods as potentially worthy of worship by others, while prioritizing one god for oneself.
In Judaism, these other gods are referenced explicitly to condemn them as false, and the practice of worshipping them was seen as a grave sin (idolatry).
The Roman Catholic Church does similarly in acknowledging historical or cultural references to other gods but does not accept their divinity.
There is also an emphasis on the rejection of idolatry, considering all other gods to be false.
Thus, the mentions of gods like Baal and Asherah in the Bible highlight the challenges faced by Israel to remain monotheistic amidst surrounding polytheistic cultures.
However, these mentions do not indicate a theological acceptance of these gods in the way that henotheism would.
They are discussed within the context of rejecting and condemning their worship in favor of a single, all-encompassing God.
The term Elyon (also spelled Elyown or Elyohn) is a Hebrew word meaning "Most High." It is often used in the Hebrew Bible to denote the supreme status of God, emphasizing His sovereignty and exalted position above all creation.
This title underscores God's ultimate authority and power over the universe, highlighting His role as the supreme ruler and protector.
In the context of the Bible, El Elyon combines "El" (a general term for God) with "Elyon," resulting in the phrase "God Most High." This designation is used to express the exaltedness and overwhelming majesty of God.
For instance, in Genesis 14:18–20, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blesses Abram, acknowledging God as the "Creator of heaven and earth."
While other gods like Baal and Asherah are mentioned, they are depicted as false idols, and their worship is condemned.
The title "Elyon" reinforces the understanding of God as the highest authority, distinct from and superior to any other deities acknowledged by surrounding cultures.
Not quite—let me clarify. Monotheism is the belief in and worship of only one God while explicitly denying the existence or divinity of any other gods.
In a monotheistic religion, no other gods are recognized as real or valid in any way.
Belief: There is only one true God, and no other gods exist.
Worship: Worship is directed exclusively to this one God.
Attitude Toward Other Gods: Monotheism explicitly denies the reality or divinity of any other gods.
Any references to other gods are often made in the context of their falseness or powerlessness.
Example: In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it is asserted that all other gods are either false or simply do not exist.
For instance, in Judaism and Christianity, the gods like Baal, Asherah, and others are mentioned not because they are believed to exist in reality, but rather because people worship them as false idols.
The Bible describes these "other gods" in order to condemn their worship and urge believers to follow the one true God.
Belief: There is one primary god that is worshipped, but other gods may exist and may even be worthy of worship in other contexts or by other people.
Worship: While one god is chosen as the main focus of devotion, the existence of other deities is acknowledged, though they are not actively worshipped.
Attitude Toward Other Gods: Henotheism accepts the existence of multiple gods but focuses on one deity as particularly significant.
It does not deny the legitimacy or existence of other gods.
Belief: Similar to henotheism, there is an acknowledgment of the existence of other gods.
Worship: Only one god is worthy of worship, while other gods are acknowledged but not actively worshipped.
Example: The ancient Israelites may have practiced monolatry at certain times, where Yahweh was exclusively worshipped, but the existence of other gods was acknowledged as being worshipped by other peoples or by Israelites before stricter monotheism took hold.
In the Bible, the mention of gods like Baal or Asherah is not a recognition of their reality or validity as gods.
Emphasize the exclusivity of the covenant with Yahweh, where God consistently condemns the worship of these other entities as idolatry.
When the Ten Commandments say, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3), it doesn’t imply the real existence of other gods.
Rather, it emphasizes that the Israelites should not recognize or worship any other gods, as these are considered false.
Monotheism: Only one God exists, and other "gods" are considered false or nonexistent.
Henotheism: There is a focus on one god, but other gods may exist and be worthy of worship.
Monolatry: Only one god is worshipped, while others are acknowledged without being worshipped.
In short, monotheism rejects the existence or legitimacy of any other gods, while henotheism and monolatry acknowledge them but choose to focus worship on one specific deity.
The reason other gods are mentioned in the context of the 'one true God' is not an acceptance of their reality but rather an acknowledgment of the cultural context in which the ancient Israelites and early Christians lived.
In the ancient Near East, different cultures and peoples each had their own gods, and this polytheistic context surrounded the early Israelites.
The Bible refers to gods like Baal, Asherah, and Molech because the Israelites were part of a world in which these deities were widely worshiped by neighboring cultures.
It does not imply that the authors of the Bible thought these gods were real in a divine sense, but rather that they were real in the sense that people believed in them, made idols, and practiced rituals in their honor.
Monotheism, particularly as it evolved in Judaism, rejects the divine legitimacy or actual existence of any gods besides the one true God (Yahweh).
When the Bible speaks of other gods, it generally does so in terms of condemnation or rejection.
These other gods are often referred to as mere idols, which were physical objects of wood, stone, or metal, crafted by human hands.
The Bible insists these idols are powerless and cannot compare to the living God of Israel.
The First Commandment ("You shall have no other gods before me" - Exodus 20:3) is part of the covenant between Yahweh and the Israelites.
The commandment does not suggest that other gods actually exist, but it acknowledges that people at the time worshipped other deities.
Polemic Against Other Gods:
The mention of other gods also serves as a polemic—an argument against other belief systems.
By naming gods like Baal and Asherah and describing their worship negatively, the texts of the Bible reinforce their status as false and powerless in contrast to Yahweh, who is portrayed as supreme and the only true God.
The First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3), can indeed be interpreted in different ways depending on the theological and historical perspective:
For the Israelites, these cultures and their gods were a tangible part of daily life.
Denial of the True Divinity of Other Gods:
The idea that the commandment acknowledges other gods doesn’t necessarily mean that it accepts their divine existence as real, legitimate gods.
From a theological standpoint, the commandment is often interpreted to mean that, while other beings may be called "gods," they have no true divinity or power compared to Yahweh.
They are either false idols, representations of human superstition, or spiritual entities that are nothing in comparison to the one Creator God.
In a polytheistic culture, many gods co-existed, and worshippers could honor multiple gods based on specific needs (e.g., a god of rain, a god of harvest).
It was not necessarily denying that other people or cultures had gods, but it was commanding the Israelites that for them, no other god should exist or hold sway.
Early Israelite religion may have been more monolatrous than strictly monotheistic in its early stages. Monolatry is the worship of one god while not denying the existence of other gods, and it could explain why this commandment was phrased as it was.
Over time, monotheism became more fully defined in Jewish theology, evolving into a belief system that categorically denies the existence or legitimacy of any other gods at all.
For members of that community, those gods have a social reality—there are temples, rituals, idols, and the belief systems of others that exert influence.
People could be tempted, or simply pressured by surrounding cultures, to adopt these gods alongside Yahweh.
Thus, the commandment served as a prohibition against being drawn into these competing forms of worship, asserting that Yahweh is the only true deity that Israelites were to follow, and that all these other "gods" are not to be considered in any legitimate manner.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, there are numerous statements by prophets and religious leaders that describe other gods as "idols made by human hands," incapable of speech, thought, or action.
They are often portrayed as powerless objects, emphasizing that Yahweh alone is the true, living God.
This depiction shows that these "gods" are seen as meaningless objects, entirely unlike Yahweh.
It does not imply that other gods truly exist in a divine or legitimate sense.
Instead, it acknowledges the social reality of these gods—people worshipped them, made idols to represent them, and honored them with rituals.
The commandment's purpose was to draw a clear boundary, making it explicit that for the Israelites, Yahweh alone was to be recognized as God, and no one else was to receive the same honor or worship.
The concept of the kami is not limited to what people typically think of as "gods" but extends to any extraordinary element that evokes awe and reverence.
Tsukuyomi – the moon god, born from washing his right eye.
Susanoo – the storm god, born from washing his nose.
It is the storm-god’s dwelling.
I read this peak as chief-god geography.
I read that sky seat as a remembered palace of a chief god.
After victory, and after kingship politics with El and Athirat, the craftsman-god Kothar-wa-Khasis builds Baal a palace on Zaphon.
Kothar-wa-Khasis is the craftsman god who builds for the gods.
It is the seat that proves the storm-god’s rule.
And thou saidst in thy heart:‘I will ascend into heaven,Above the stars of God Will I exalt my throne,And I will sit upon the mount of meeting,In the uttermost parts of the north;I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will be like the Most High.’
The polemic says only the true God owns that seat.
I follow the “stars of God” and the mount of meeting on the 12 Elohim.
Interpretatio graeca means Greeks mapped a foreign storm and mountain god onto Zeus.
Same “chief god on a high place” pattern.
Each is a chief-god seat.
Isaiah’s “stars of God” and mount of meeting belong with Elohim council language I follow there.
The cosmic-mountain and chief-god seat pattern is the bridge I use.
I use it as chief-god cosmic-mountain geography.
The 12 Elohim: Divine council / mount of assembly / “stars of God” bridge from Isaiah 14.
The Canaanites believed the gods were connected to high mountains, which served as a symbolic meeting place between heaven and earth.
Psalm 133:3: Hermon is praised for its heavy dew, which serves as a poetic metaphor for God's blessings.
The Amorites and other cultures perceived mountains as the dwelling places of their gods, and Hermon held a key role as a symbol of both physical and metaphysical boundaries.
Baal was often considered a storm god and a deity of fertility, and Mount Hermon's high elevation would have made it an apt place for worshipping a weather deity, especially given the area's abundant dew and its effect on agriculture.
In many ancient cultures, high places were synonymous with sanctuaries or altars to the gods.
Years prior, Walsch recounts a moment of frustration when he penned a letter to God, asking existential questions about life’s purpose and the apparent lack of consistent "rules." In his frustration, he asked, “What in the hell do you want?” In response, Walsch shares that God revealed a central idea: life is not about individual desires but about every life one touches.
In his conversations with God, Walsch says he received a message that "we are all one," suggesting that all things are connected and made of the same essence, described as "pure love." Walsch initially found this idea overwhelming, even "too good to be true," but shares how God assured him of its truthfulness.
He offers a metaphor to illustrate the connection between God and humans, likening individuals to waves on the ocean of divinity—unique expressions of a unified whole.
Walsch addresses the question of why God does not simply eliminate the world's problems.
He recounts a dialogue in which God challenges humans to recognize their responsibility for creating their reality.
Walsch calls for “idea heroes”—individuals who challenge conventional perspectives about life, identity, and God.
In his book The God Solution, Walsch offers a guide to using metaphysics for manifesting desired realities.
He shares his favorite prayer, “Thank you, God, for helping me to understand that this problem has already been solved for me.” He advocates for gratitude in advance, seeing it as an affirmation of faith in positive outcomes.
the Thunder God), some of the details peripheral to the flood itself may have been summarized out of existence.
When the rains ceased, he sacrificed to Zeus, the God of Escape.
The animals came to him, and by God's help, remained friendly for the duration of the flood.
The gods revealed their identity, led the couple up the mountains, and showed them the whole valley flooded, destroying all homes but the couple's, which was transformed into a marble temple.
One of the kings of Alba (named Romulus, Remulus, or Amulius Silvius), set himself up as a god equal to or superior to Jupiter.
Only a boy and girl, siblings, survived; God had carried them under his arms to a high mountain called "basse varre," the holy mountain.
When the danger had passed, God let them go their way.
The son who led in the mutilation of Heaven was a Titan and became their king, but the Titans and gods hated each other, and the king titan was driven from his throne by his son, who was born a god.
Lithuanian:From his heavenly window, the supreme god Pramzimas saw nothing but war and injustice among mankind.
God's wrath abated, he ordered the wind and water to abate.
To comfort them, God sent the rainbow and advised them to jump over the bones of the earth nine times.
Near EastSumerian:The gods had decided to destroy mankind.
The god Enlil warned the priest-king Ziusudra ("Long of Life") of the coming flood by speaking to a wall while Ziusudra listened at the side.
Then Ziusudra opened a window in the large boat, allowing sunlight to enter, and he prostrated himself before the sun-god Utu.
Babylonian:Three times (every 1200 years), the gods were distressed by the disturbance from human overpopulation.
The gods dealt with the problem first by plague, then by famine.
Both times, the god Enki advised men to bribe the god causing the problem.
The third time, Enlil advised the gods to destroy all humans with a flood, but Enki had Atrahasis build an ark and so escape.
The storm god Adad raged, turning the day black.
After the seven-day flood, the gods regretted their action.
Atrahasis made an offering to them, at which the gods gathered like flies, and Enki established barren women and stillbirth to avoid the problem in the future.
Assyrian:The gods, led by Enlil, agreed to cleanse the earth of an overpopulated humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the god Ea in a dream.
Even the gods were frightened by the flood's fury.
Upon seeing all the people killed, the gods repented and wept.
Utnapishtim made a sacrifice to the gods.
Chaldean:The god Chronos in a vision warned Xisuthrus, the tenth king of Babylon, of a flood coming on the fifteenth day of the month of Daesius.
The god ordered him to write a history and bury it in Sippara, and told him to build and provision a vessel (5 stadia by 2 stadia) for himself, his friends and relations, and all kinds of animals.
Xisuthrus asked where he should sail, and Chronos answered, "to the gods, but first pray for all good things to men." Xisuthrus built a ship five furlongs by two furlongs and loaded it as ordered.
He disembarked with his wife, daughter, and pilot, and offered sacrifices to the gods.
Those four were translated to live with the gods.
Hebrew:God, upset at mankind's wickedness, resolved to destroy it, but Noah was righteous and found favor with Him.
God told Noah to build an ark, 450 x 75 x 45 feet, with three decks.
The waters flooded the earth for 150 days; then God sent a wind and the waters receded, and the ark came to rest in Ararat.
Noah sacrificed some clean animals and birds to God, and God, pleased with this, promised never again to destroy all living creatures with a flood, giving the rainbow as a sign of this covenant.
God determined to destroy the sinners, but in mercy he instructed Noah to warn them of the threat of a flood and to preach to them to mend their ways.
God gave mankind a final week of grace during which the sun reversed course, but the wicked men did not repent; they only mocked Noah for building the ark.
God made holes in the sky for the waters to issue from by removing two stars from the Pleiades.
God would come from thence and save mankind.
A woman "clothed with the sun" gave birth to a man child who was taken up by God.
The world was heavily populated in those days, but the people were sinful and not mindful of God.
At this, God resolved to destroy mankind, except Tumbainot found grace in His eyes.
God commanded Tumbainot to build an ark of wood and enter it with his two wives, six sons and their wives, and some of animals of every sort.
When they were all aboard and provisioned, God caused a great long rain which caused a flood, and all other men and beasts drowned.
Tumbainot saw four rainbows, one in each quarter of the sky, signifying that God's wrath was over.
God told two men to go into a ship, taking with them all sorts of seed and animals.
Basonge:Several animals wooed Ngolle Kakesse, granddaughter of God, but only Zebra was accepted.
Yoruba (southwest Nigeria):At the beginning of time, there was only the sky, ruled over by the orisha (god) Olorun, and the waters below, ruled by the female deity Olokun.
Olokun was still upset and sought a way to humiliate the sky god.
A god, Ifa, tired of living on earth and went to dwell in the firmament with Obatala.
Without his assistance, mankind couldn't interpret the desires of the gods, and one god, Olokun, in a fit of rage, destroyed nearly everybody in a great flood.
At first, there was no water on earth, so Etim 'Ne asked the god Obassi Osaw for water, and he was given a calabash with seven clear stones.
His family deserted him, but when he gave his last meal to the (unrecognized) god Ouende, Ouende rewarded him with three handfuls of flour which renewed itself and produced even greater riches.
The survivors, on the brink of starvation, prayed to the great god Numi-târom, who recreated living things.
Buryat (eastern Siberia):The god Burkhan advised a man to build a great ship, and the man worked on it in the forest for many long days, keeping his intention secret from his wife by telling her he was chopping wood.
Sagaiye (eastern Siberia):God told Noj to build a ship.
God was forced to send down an iron vessel in which Noj, his wife and family, and all kinds of animals were saved.
Noah, drunk from this drink, told the secret God entrusted him with.
When it filled the ocean, Manu recognized it as the god Janardana, or Brahma.
It said that a hundred years of drought and famine would begin this day, which would be followed by fires from the sun and from underground that would consume the earth and the ether, destroying this world, the gods, and the planets.
At last Satyavrata recognized it as the god Vishnu, "The Lord of the Universe." Vishnu told him that in seven days all the corrupt creatures will be destroyed by a deluge, but Satyavrata would be saved in a large vessel.
God sent a deluge to destroy a jackal which had angered him.
After twelve years, God created two birds and sent them to see if the jackal had been drowned.
The birds told God, who caused the flood to subside, took the children from the log, and heard their story.
God gave each of their children the name of a different caste, and all people are descended from them.
Tibet:Tibet was almost totally inundated, until the god Gya took compassion on the survivors, drew off the waters through Bengal, and sent teachers to civilize the people, who until then had been little better than monkeys.
China:The Supreme Sovereign ordered the water god Gong Gong to create a flood as punishment and warning for human misbehavior.
Before Gun was finished, however, the Supreme Sovereign sent the fire god Zhu Rong to execute him for his theft.
Yu led other gods to drive away Gong Gong, distributed the Growing Soil to remove most of the flood, and led the people to fashion rivers from Ying's tracks and thus channel the remaining floodwaters to the sea.
God thought better of his deed and created the snake Lurbing to stop the fiery rain.
Ho (southwestern Bengal):The first people became incestuous and unheedful of God or their betters.
Zhuang (China):Thunder God demanded half of Bubo's crops, but Bubo tricked him into taking the tops of taro and the roots of rice.
Thunder God retaliated by withdrawing rain from the earth.
Bubo led his people to open the copper sluice gate of the heavenly river a crack, but Thunder God closed it tight and lifted heaven higher so the people couldn't come again.
Bubo climbed the sun-moon tree on Mount Bachi to heaven to fight Thunder God.
Qigao, one of the thunder soldiers, told Bubo that Thunder God was determined to kill people with drought and pointed out his location.
Bubo caught him and made him promise to send rain in three days, but Thunder God went back on his promise.
Qigao brought world that Thunder God was grinding his axe.
Thunder God came in a rainstorm and tried to land on Bubo's house but slipped off and was captured.
Bubo imprisoned Thunder God in a granary, warning his family not to give him an ax or any water, but his children, Fuyi and his sister, were enticed to give him some indigo ink, and the moisture gave Thunder God the strength to escape.
The children were angry that he had tricked them, but Thunder God promised that he would repay them by saving them from the flood that he would bring in a few days.
Thunder God breached the dike holding back the river of heaven, and Dragon King, in revenge against Bubo's plucking his beard, released his lake water, too.
He made for the gate of heaven and attacked Thunder God, chopping off his feet.
(Thunder God later replaced them with chicken feet.) Thunder God, with the help of Dragon King, rapidly made the water subside so Bubo could not reach him.
Qigao became a worm, which Thunder God attacks when he comes to the surface.
But a time came when they offered no sacrifices to their gods.
Ling-lawn, the storm god, sent large cranes to devour the people, but there were too many people to eat all of them.
But the storm-god had not finished his battle.
They sent for Hkang-hkak, god of streams and ponds, of alligators and water animals, and bade him descend with the clouds and report to the distinguished sage Lip-long.
Lip-long had seen ill omens while auguring with chicken bones and knew a calamity was coming, so he was not surprised to hear the water-god tell him that Ling-lawn, the storm god, would soon flood the earth and destroy everything on it.
Fearing the gods, he heeded the order not to warn anyone.
Then he sent Hsen-htam and Hpa-hpai, the gods of fire, who descended on their horses to one of only three elevations of land.
He asked Hkang-hkak what to do, and the water god told him to plant the gourd seed on a level plot of ground.
Then Ling-lawn sent Sao-pang, god of the clear sky, to prepare the earth for humans.
The Shans therein asked god what to do, and he told them to go and rule many lands.
Ami (eastern Taiwan):The god Kakumodan Sappatorroku and the goddess Budaihabu descended to a place called Taurayan with the boy Sura, the girl Nakao, a pig and a chicken.
One day, two other gods, Kabitt and Aka, while hunting nearby, saw the pig and chicken and coveted them.
They called upon the four sea gods, Mahahan, Mariyaru, Marimokoshi, and Kosomatora, who consented to help.
On the fifth day, the two gods fled to a mountain, and when they reached the summit, the sea began booming and rising.
The brother and sister, now alone in the world, feared to offend the ancestral gods, but of necessity they became man and wife.
To mitigate the wrath of the gods, they contacted each other as little as possible and interposed a mat between them in their bed.
While the Ifugaos celebrated the waters, a storm came, the river kept rising, and the elders advised people to run for the mountains, as the river gods were angry.
The god Maknongan, appearing as an old man, assured her that her shame had no foundation, since she and her brother would repopulate the world.
Tinguian (Luzon, Philippines):When the god Kaboniyan sent a flood to cover the earth, fire hid itself deep inside bamboo, stone, and iron.
The god Batara Guru, to recover it from the abyss, sent his daughter Puti-orla-bulan (who had requested the mission).
They worshipped Tane, Rangi (Heaven), Rehua, and all the gods, each at a separate alter.
Then he called to the gods, his ancestors, for revenge.
In another version of the story, Tawhaki, a man, put on a garment of lightning and was worshipped as a god.
Palau Islands (Micronesia):The stars are the shining eyes of the gods.
(The Pelew Islanders' money is made from it.) The gods were angry at this and came to earth to punish the theft.
The gods came looking for her again after the flood ebbed, but they found her dead.
The gods begat five children by the old woman and then returned to heaven, as did the goddess who restored her to life.
Seven friendly gods, who went searching for him, were met with unkindness except from the woman Milathk, who told them of the death.
Milathk perished in the flood, but was recalled to life by the oldest Obakad god.
He wanted to make her immortal but was stopped by another god, Tariit.
Fiji:The great god Ndengei had a favorite bird, called Turukawa, which would wake him every morning.
They prayed to another god for direction, and they were brought canoes (or taught how to make them) by Rokoro, the god of carpenters, and his foreman Rokola.
In one was Rokova, god of carpenters; Rokola, his head workman, was in the other.
They saved eight people in their canoes, landing at Mbenga (where the god first appeared) when the water subsided.
Samoa:In a battle between Fire and Water (offspring of the primeval octopus), everything was overwhelmed by a 'boundless sea', and the god Tangaloa had the task of re-creating the world.
Mangaia (Cook Islands):The rain god Aokeu ("Red Circle" for the red clay he washes around the island), who was lowly born of the drippings from stalactites, disputed with the ocean god Ake to see which was more powerful.
Ake summoned help from the wind god Raka and his twin children Tikokura, who is seen in the line of curling billows which break over reefs, and Tane-ere-tue, who manifests in storm waves.
Rangi waded through water up to his chin to reach the temple of the supreme god Rongo, and appealed to him.
Rakaanga (Cook Islands):A chief named Taoiau, angered at his people for not bringing him the sacred turtle, roused all the sea gods on whose good will the islands depend.
Raiatea (Leeward Group, French Polynesia):Shortly after the peopling of the world, a fisherman carelessly let his hooks get entangled in the hair of the sea god Ruahatu, who was reposing among the coral, and disturbed the god's rest when wrenching them out.
The angry god surfaced, upbraided the fisherman, and threatened to destroy the land in revenge.
The Supreme God was angry and dragged the earth through the sea.
He prayed to the god Lono in the name of his sister but did not escape.
The gods commanded Nuu to build an ark and carry on it his wife, three sons, and males and females of all breathing things.
The gods entered the ark and told Nuu to go forth with all the life it carried.
In gratitude for his deliverance, Nuu offered a sacrifice of pig, coconuts, and awa to the moon, which he thought was the god Kane.
Their father Kamalo sought the help of the shark god Kauhuhu to get revenge.
Tsimshian (British Columbia):The flood was sent by the god Laxha, who had become annoyed by the noise of boys at play.
Two gods, Thunder and Nagaicho, saw that it was old.
Blackfoot (Alberta and Montana):The Sun, the Moon, and their two children "Old Man" and "Apistotoki God" began creating the world.
Being angry with giants, God commanded a man to build a large canoe.
Choctaw (Mississippi):A prophet was sent by the high god to warn of a coming flood, but nobody took notice.
For their sins of adultery and constant quarreling, the gods expelled them by sending a wall of water from all directions.
The gods made people in human form from ears of corn, different colors of corn becoming different tribes.
The gods were displeased by their sins, though, and sent a wall of water upon them.
Only five sorts of birds survived, including the flicker and vulture, by clinging to the sky with their beaks until a god took pity on them and let them make nests from their own down and float in them.
Because someone displeased the gods, a heavy rain began pouring down, and water gushed from the broken ground, swelling the rivers.
Central AmericaTarascan (northern Michoacan, Mexico):When the great flood came, God built a house.
When the waters receded, some of the survivors were very hungry, and although God told them not to eat anything, they started to cook tortillas inside the house.
God sent down an angel to tell them not to light any fire, but the smoke was already drifting into the sky.
God sent the angel again with the same message, but the people said they were hungry and continued cooking.
After the message was ignored a third time, God told the angel to give those people a good kick.
God ordered a man to build a large house and to put animals and food in it.
God ordered that no fires be kindled, but one man disobeyed and was turned into a dog.
Bartholomew reminded the boy of God's orders, but the boy pleaded that he was hungry.
Tarahumara (Northern Mexico):People were once fighting among themselves, and Father God (Tata Dios) sent much rain, drowning everyone.
After the flood, God sent three men and three women to repopulate the earth.
God sent the vulture out to see if the earth was dry enough, but the vulture didn't return because it was devouring the drowned corpses.
God cursed the vulture and made it black, leaving its wingtips white to remind people of its former color.
Next, God sent the ringdove, who reported that the land was dry but the rivers were in spate.
So God commanded the animals to drink the rivers dry.
One day the man took half of them to visit God, who gave them clothes; the others remained naked.
The monkey told him that God didn't want him to work because a flood was coming, and it gave him instructions for building a coffinlike craft.
Toltec (Mexico):One of the Tezcatlipocas (sons of the original dual god) transformed himself into the Sun and created the first humans to show up his brothers.
The other gods, angry at his audacity, had Quetzalcoatl destroy the sun and the earth, which he did with a flood.
The gods Citlallinicue and Citlallatonac complained that someone was smoking up the heavens.
The god and goddess Puma-Snake and Jaguar-Snake raised a cliff above the abyss.
The only inhabitants were giants, and God was angry with them for their idolatry.
Totonac (eastern Mexico):A man, warned by God, survived the flood in a tree he had hollowed out.
God smelled the smoke and sent buzzard down to investigate, but buzzard stayed to eat the dead animals, and God condemned him to eat only rotten flesh thereafter.
God told Saint Michael the Archangel to go down, and Saint Michael reversed the man's face and hind parts and turned him into a monkey.
God told a man to make an ark.
God became angry and sent a deluge.
Right after the flood, he lit a fire, and God smelled the smoke.
God sent the buzzard, turkey buzzard, and churn-owl to investigate, but they stayed to eat dead bodies.
God condemned them always to eat dead bodies.
God then sent the hawk, which reported back.
God didn't approve of this and turned them into bees.
God destroyed them with a flood because of their carelessness in their observation of custom.
The four Bacab gods managed to escape and now hold up the four corners of the sky.
God told a man to stop working, because a flood was coming.
After its destruction, the gods created all things afresh.
Offended by people's wickedness, Chibchachun, the tutelary god, sent the torrents of Sopo and Tibito down from the hills, flooding the plain.
The rainbow, Chuchaviva, was thence honored as a god, but Chibchachum, in revenge, proclaimed that many would die when it appears.
Arawak (Guyana):Since its creation, the world has been destroyed twice, once by fire and once by flood, by the great god Aiomun Kondi because of the wickedness of mankind.
Paria Caca, a god born from five falcon eggs, heard about a man called Tamta Namca who called himself a god and had himself worshipped, and about other people's sins.
The creator god Viracocha made the earth and sky, and he created stone giants to live in it.
The gods of the mountains were angry at the smoke dirtying their snow.
Khuno, the snow god, decided to kill them with a flood, but the mountain god Illimani suggested instead that they be driven to great hardship.
Chiriguano (southeast Bolivia):The evil supernatural being Aguara-Tunpa declared war against the god Tunpaete, Creator of the Chiriguanos.
The great god Tupi warned a medicine man named Tamanduare of a coming great flood that would cover the earth, and he told Tamanduare to seek refuge on a lofty peak with a palm tree at its top.
Warriors, Gods & Spirits from Central & South American Mythology, William Collins, Glasgow, 1983.
The Flayed God, HarperCollins, 1992.
Arnaud Amalric, a Benedictine monk leading the attack, reportedly ordered the killing of all inhabitants, stating, "Kill them all, God will recognize His own." This phrase epitomizes the ruthlessness of the campaign.
They rejected the violent and punitive portrayal of the Old Testament God, contrasting Him with a benevolent universal source they revered as the true God.
His execution was partly due to his beliefs that challenged the uniqueness of the Earth and humanity in God's creation.
In Yoruba mythology, the Great Flood is a significant event that marks a divine intervention by the Orishas, the gods of Yoruba culture.
Olorun (also known as Olodumare), the supreme god of the Yoruba pantheon, decided to create the earth.
It is said that after a great flood, the gods used the remains of a giant gourd to create the first landmass, allowing life to begin anew.
Maya Mythology: In Maya mythology, there is a tale in which the gods created humans from maize and other cultivated plants, including Cucurbita.
In one Yoruba creation myth, the god Obatala used a gourd to descend from the heavens and create the land.
Gourds are used in traditional ceremonies, as musical instruments, and in rituals that honor ancestors and the gods.
This is reliant on the premises that Jonah is the same figure as Oannes of the Apkallu, and that the Apkallu are Atlantean emissaries (this appears to be the case given they are sent from god Enki who can be likened to the god Atlas).
After decrying that the city will be "haphak" (overthrown or transformed) the city then enters a fast in repentance and Jonah retires to the outskirts where he constructs a "sukkāh" (booth, shade-structure) and then God grows a gourd that climbs the structure and provides Jonah with shade, the gourd dies and is eaten by a worm.
This verse describes the Nephilim as the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men, leading to a race of mighty men of old, also known as the men of renown.
Skiba addresses the controversial interpretation of the "sons of God" in Genesis 6, challenging the popular theological view that these were the descendants of Seth.
He points to the consistency between Genesis 6 and 1 Enoch 6, where the "sons of God" are clearly identified as angels.
Skiba draws attention to the fact that the phrase “sons of God” is used elsewhere in the Bible, particularly in the Book of Job, to refer to angels.
Skiba believes that God's judgment on the Watchers was severe enough to prevent any future angelic transgressions.
In contrast, obedience to God could alter these genetic outcomes, resulting in the preservation of a righteous lineage, as seen in Shem’s descendants.
The discussion moves to the Tower of Babel, described in Genesis 11, where the people, under Nimrod's leadership, attempted to build a tower "whose top may reach unto heaven." Skiba addresses the widely held interpretation that the Tower of Babel was not about height but about spiritual rebellion, such as attempting to reach God or create a Stargate.
He also cites the Book of Jasher, which describes the population involved in building the tower and their intentions to wage war against God.
The biblical story of the Tower of Babel ends with God confusing the languages of the builders, creating 70 distinct nations.
He explains this division as part of a cosmic struggle between God and Satan.
He argues that the Nephilim were created during this period when "the sons of God" (Watcher angels) mated with human women.
Skiba draws on Jasher 4:18 and Jubilees 7:24, which describe the mixing of species and genetic manipulation that provoked God's judgment.
Rob suggests that genetic corruption was central to God's decision to flood the Earth, with Noah and his family being spared due to their genetic purity.
God observed the people's intentions and saw that nothing they imagined would be beyond their reach.
The speaker interprets this as the people's desire to challenge God directly, although it is acknowledged that it is impossible to kill God.
God's response to this endeavor was to confound their language, causing confusion and dispersion.
The Book of Jasher elaborates that the builders were divided into three groups with different objectives: one to wage war against God, another to place their gods in heaven, and the third to attack God with weapons.
Despite the people’s resolve, God thwarted their plans by confounding their language.
Researchers suggest that the program's founding scientists were linked to secret societies like the Freemasons, who believed they descended from gods like Osiris.
In the Scandinavian mythology the chief god was Odin, the Woden, Wotan, or Wuotan of the Germans.
He is represented with many of the attributes of the Greek god Zeus, and is supposed by some to be identical with him.
He dwelt with the twelve Æsir, or gods, upon Asgard, the Norse Olympus, which arose out of Midgard, a land half-way between the regions of frost and fire (to wit, in a temperate climate).
He states that "he is the third of the Votans; that he conducted seven families from Valum-Votan to this continent, and assigned lands to them; that be determined to travel until he came to the root of heaven and found his relations, the Culebres, and made himself known to them; that he accordingly made four voyages to Chivim; that he arrived in Spain; that he went to Rome; that he saw the house of God building; that be went by the road which his brethren, the Culebres, had bored; that he marked it, and that he passed by the houses of the thirteen Culebres.
He relates that, in returning from one of his voyages, he found seven other families of the Tzequil nation who had joined the first inhabitants, and recognized in them the same origin as his own, that is, of the Culebres; he speaks of the place where they built the first town, which from its founders received the name of Tzequil; he affirms that, having taught them the refinement of manners in the use of the table, table-cloths, dishes, basins, cups, and napkins, they taught him the knowledge of God and his worship; his first ideas of a king, and obedience to him; that he was chosen captain of all these united families."
There are many things to connect the mythology of the Gothic nations with Atlantis; they had, as we have seen, flood legends; their gods Krodo and Satar were the Chronos and Saturn of Atlantis; their Baal was the Bel of the Phœnicians, who were closely connected with Poseidon and Atlas; and, as we shall see hereafter, their language has a distinct relationship with the tongues of the Arabians, Cushites, Chaldeans, and Phœnicians.
Not alone were the gods of the Greeks the deified kings of Atlantis, but we find that the mythology of the Phœnicians was drawn from the same source.
For instance, we find in the Phœnician cosmogony that the Titans (Rephaim) derive their origin from the Phœnician gods Agrus and Agrotus.
The Phœnician god Ouranos had a great many other wives: his wife Ge was jealous; they quarrelled, and he attempted to kill the children he had by her.
He gave Egypt as a kingdom to the god Taaut, who had invented the alphabet.
The Egyptians called him Thoth, and he was represented among them as "the god of letters, the clerk of the under-world," bearing a tablet, pen, and palm-branch.
There can be no doubt that the royal personages who formed the gods of Greece were also the gods of the Phœnicians.
We have seen the Autochthon of Plato reappearing in the Autochthon of the Phœnicians; the Atlas of Plato in the Atlas of the Phœnicians; the Poseidon of Plato in the Poseidon of the Phœnicians; while the kings Mestor and Mneseus of Plato are probably the gods Misor and Amynus of the Phœnicians.
Sanchoniathon tells us, after narrating all the discoveries by which the people advanced to civilization, that the Cabiri set down their records of the past by the command of the god Taaut, "and they delivered them to their successors and to foreigners, of whom one was Isiris (Osiris), the inventor of the three letters, the brother of Chua, who is called the first Phœnician."
This would show that the first Phœnician came long after this line of the kings or gods, and that he was a foreigner, as compared with them; and, therefore, that it could not have been the Phœnicians proper who made the several inventions narrated by Sanchoniathon, but some other race, from whom the Phœnicians might have been descended.
And in the delivery of their records to the foreigner Osiris, the god of Egypt, we have another evidence that Egypt derived her civilization from Atlantis.
He is the father of the god of the sun, the ruler of the region of light.
Ra was the sun-god.
Bel represented the sun, and was the favorite god.
The sun was represented by Baal-Samin, the great god, the god of light and the heavens, the creator and rejuvenator.
"The attributes of both Baal and Moloch (the good and bad powers of the sun) were united in the Phœnician god Melkart, "king of the city," whom the inhabitants of Tyre considered their special patron.
The Samoyed woman says to the sun, "When thou, god, risest, I too rise from my bed." Every morning even now the Brahmans stand on one foot, with their hands held out before them and their faces turned to the east, adoring the sun.
The Greeks, too young to have shared in the religion of Atlantis, but preserving some memory of that great country and its history, proceeded to convert its kings into gods, and to depict Atlantis itself as the heaven of the human race.
Thus we find a great solar or nature worship in the elder nations, while Greece has nothing but an incongruous jumble of gods and goddesses, who are born and eat and drink and make love and ravish and steal and die; and who are worshipped as immortal in presence of the very monuments that testify to their death.
There can be no question that these gods of Greece were human beings.
The highly civilized Romans made gods out of their dead emperors.
"There were tales of personal visits and adventures of the gods among men, taking part in battles and appearing in dreams.
Another proof that the gods of the Greeks were but the deified kings of Atlantis is found in the fact that "the gods were not looked upon as having created the world." They succeeded to the management of a world already in existence.
The gods dwelt on Olympus.
Tethys: these were the Islands of the Blessed, the garden of the gods, the sources of the nectar and ambrosia on which the gods lived." (Murray's "Mythology," p.
"The gods lived on nectar and ambrosia" simply meant that the inhabitants of these blessed islands were civilized, and possessed a liquor of some kind and a species of food superior to anything in use among the barbarous tribes with whom they came in contact.
These deities, including Zeus, were twelve in number: Zeus (or Jupiter), Hera (or Juno), Poseidon (or Neptune), Demeter (or Ceres), Apollo, Artemis (or Diana), Hephæstos (or Vulcan), Pallas Athena (or Minerva), Ares (or Mars), Aphrodite (or Venus), Hermes (or Mercury), and Hestia (or Vesta)." These were doubtless the twelve gods from whom the Egyptians derived their kings.
It is not impossible that our division of the year into twelve parts is a reminiscence of the twelve gods of Atlantis.
Diodorus Siculus tells us that among the Babylonians there were twelve gods of the heavens, each personified by one of the signs of the zodiac, and worshipped in a certain month of the year.
The Hindoos had twelve primal gods, "the Aditya." Moses erected twelve pillars at Sinai.
The Scandinavians believed in the twelve gods, the Aesir, who dwelt on Asgard, the Norse Olympus.
"The Garden of the Hesperides" (another name for the dwelling-place of the gods) "was situated at the extreme limit of Africa.
In like manner God in his love of mankind placed over us the demons, who are a superior race, and they, with great care and pleasure to themselves and no less to us, taking care of us and giving us place and reverence and order and justice never failing, made the tribes of men happy and peaceful .
397): "My notion would be that the sun, moon, and stars, earth, and heaven, which are still the gods of many barbarians, were the only gods known to the aboriginal Hellenes.
What shall follow the gods?
This is made the more evident when we read that this region of the gods, of Chronos and Uranos and Zeus, passed through, first, a Golden Age, then a Silver Age--these constituting a great period of peace and happiness; then it reached a Bronze Age; then an Iron Age, and finally perished by a great flood, sent upon these people by Zeus as a punishment for their sins.
"Men were rich then (in the Silver Age), as in the Golden Age of Chronos, and lived in plenty; but still they wanted the innocence and contentment which were the true sources of bu man happiness in the former age; and accordingly, while living in luxury and delicacy, they became overbearing in their manners to the highest degree, were never satisfied, and forgot the gods, to whom, in their confidence of prosperity and com fort, they denied the reverence they owed.
And here we find that the Flood that destroyed this land of the gods was the Flood of Deucalion, and the Flood of Deucalion was the Flood of the Bible, and this, as we have shown, was "the last great Deluge of all," according to the Egyptians, which destroyed Atlantis.
The foregoing description of the Golden Age of Chronos, when "men were rich and lived in plenty," reminds us of Plato's description of the happy age of Atlantis, when "men despised everything but virtue, not caring for their present state of life, and thinking lightly of the possession of gold and other property;" a time when, as the chants of the Delaware Indians stated it (page 109, ante), "all were willingly pleased, all were well-happified." While the description given by Murray in the above extract of the degeneracy of mankind in the land of the gods, "a period of constant quarrelling and deeds of violence, when might was right," agrees with Plato's account of the Atlanteans, when they became "aggressive," "unable to bear their fortune," "unseemly," "base," "filled with unrighteous avarice and power,"--and "in a most wretched state." And here again I might quote from the chant of the Delaware Indians--"they became troubled, hating each other; both were fighting, both were spoiling, both were never peaceful." And in all three instances the gods punished the depravity of mankind by a great deluge.
We may, therefore, suppose that when the Greeks said that their gods dwelt in "Olympus," it was the same as if they said that they dwelt in "Atlantis."
Nearly all the gods of Greece are connected with Atlantis.
We have seen the twelve principal gods all dwelling on the mountain of Olympus, in the midst of an island in the ocean in the far west, which was subsequently destroyed by a deluge on account of the wickedness of its people.
The modern theory that the gods of Greece never had any personal existence, but represented atmospheric and meteorological myths, the movements of clouds, planets, and the sun, is absurd.
When we read that Jove whipped his wife, and threw her son out of the window, the inference is that Jove was a man, and actually did something like the thing described; certainly gods, sublimated spirits, aerial sprites, do not act after this fashion; and it would puzzle the mythmakers to prove that the sun, moon, or stars whipped their wives or flung recalcitrant young men out of windows.
Uranos was the first god; that is to say, the first king of the great race.
"The learned Pezron contends that the division which was made of this vast empire came, in after-times, to be taken for the partition of the whole world; that Asia remaining in the hands of Jupiter (Zeus), the most potent of the three brothers, made him looked upon as the god of Olympus; that the sea and islands which fell to Neptune occasioned their giving him the title of 'god of the sea;' and that Spain, the extremity of the then known world, thought to be a very low country in respect of Asia, and famous for its excellent mines of gold and silver, failing to Pluto, occasioned him to be taken for the 'god of the infernal regions.'" We should suppose that Pluto possibly ruled over the transatlantic possessions of Atlantis in America, over those "portions of the opposite continent" which Plato tells us were dominated by Atlas and his posterity, and which, being far beyond or below sunset, were the "under-world" of the ancients; while Atlantis, the Canaries, etc., constituted the island division with Western Africa and Spain.
No vassal god, nor of his train am I.Three brothers, deities, from Saturn came,And ancient Rhea, earth's immortal dame;Assigned by lot our triple rule we know;Infernal Pluto sways the shades below:O'er the wide clouds, and o'er the starry plainEthereal Jove extends his high domain;My court beneath the hoary waves I keep,And hush the roaring of the sacred deep.
"The god whose liquid arms are hurledAround the globs, whose earthquakes rock the world."
533): "Oceanus and Tethys were the children of Earth and Heaven, and from these sprung Phorcys, and Chronos, and Rhea, and many more with them; and from Chronos and Rhea sprung Zeus and Hera, and all those whom we know as their brethren, and others who were their children." In other words, all their gods came out of the ocean; they were rulers over some ocean realm; Chronos was the son of Oceanus, and Chronos was an Atlantean god, and from him the Atlantic Ocean was called by tho ancients "the Chronian Sea." The elder Minos was called "the Son of the Ocean:" he first gave civilization to the Cretans; he engraved his laws on brass, precisely as Plato tells us the laws of Atlantis were engraved on pillars of brass.
Ulysses's wanderings were a prolonged struggle with Poseidon, the founder and god of Atlantis.
He was called "the ripener, the harvest-god," and was probably identified with the beginning of the Agricultural Period.
The third and last on the throne of the highest god was Zeus.
"Philemon and Baukis, an aged couple of the poorer class, were living peacefully and full of piety toward the gods in their cottage in Phrygia, when Zeus, who often visited the earth, disguised, to inquire into the behavior of men, paid a visit, in passing through Phrygia on such a journey, to these poor old people, and was received by them very kindly as a weary traveller, which he pretended to be.
Bidding him welcome to the house, they set about preparing for their guest, who was accompanied by Hermes, as excellent a meal as they could afford, and for this purpose were about to kill the only goose they had left, when Zeus interfered; for he was touched by their kindliness and genuine piety, and that all the more because he had observed among the other inhabitants of the district nothing but cruelty of disposition and a habit of reproaching and despising the gods.
We have thus the whole family of gods and goddesses traced back to Atlantis.
Zeus on one occasion beat her, and threw her son Hephæstos out of Olympus; on another occasion he hung her out of Olympus with her arms tied and two great weights attached to her feet--a very brutal and ungentlemanly trick--but the Greeks transposed this into a beautiful symbol: the two weights, they say, represent the earth and sea, "an illustration of how all the phenomena of the visible sky were supposed to hang dependent on the highest god of heaven!" (Ibid., p.
"The Nymphs of Grecian mythology were a kind of middle beings between the gods and men, communicating with both, loved and respected by both; .
living like the gods on ambrosia.
In extraordinary cases they were summoned, it was believed, to the councils of the Olympian gods; but they usually remained in their particular spheres, in secluded grottoes and peaceful valleys, occupied in spinning, weaving, bathing, singing sweet songs, dancing, sporting, or accompanying deities who passed through their territories--hunting with Artemis (Diana), rushing about with Dionysos (Bacchus), making merry with Apollo or Hermes (Mercury), but always in a hostile attitude toward the wanton and excited Satyrs."
It is not necessary to pursue the study of the gods of Greece any farther.
Here then, in conclusion, are the proofs of our proposition that the gods of Greece had been the kings of Atlantis:
The Adites worshipped the gods of the Phœnicians under names but slightly changed; "their religion was especially solar...
The god Thoth of the Egyptians, who was the god of a foreign country, and who invented letters, was called At-hothes.
Bryant says, "Ad and Ada signify the first." The Persians called the first man "Ad-amah." "Adon" was one of the names of the Supreme God of the Phœnicians; from it was derived the name of the Greek god "Ad-onis." The Arv-ad of Genesis was the Ar-Ad of the Cushites; it is now known as Ru-Ad.
We have already seen that the primal gods of this people are identical with the gods of the Greek mythology, and were originally kings of Atlantis.
The gods who are grouped together as the Aditya are the most ancient in the Hindoo mythology.
They are all gods of light, or solar gods.
These twelve gods presided over twelve months in the year.
These gods are called "the sons of Aditi," just as in the Bible we have allusions to "the sons of Adab," who were the first metallurgists and musicians.
The Aditya "are elevated above all imperfections; they do not sleep or wink." The Greeks represented their gods as equally wakeful and omniscient.
In the vedas Varuna is "the god of the ocean."
Yama is the god of the abode beyond the grave.
78), deciphered from the Babylonian tablets, shows that there was an original race of men at the beginning of Chaldean history, a dark race, the Zalmat-qaqadi, who were called Ad-mi, or Ad-ami; they were the race "who had fallen," and were contradistinguished from "the Sarku, or light race." The "fall" probably refers to their destruction by a deluge, in consequence of their moral degradation and the indignation of the gods.
v., 2) distinctly says that God created man male and female, and "called their name Adam." That is to say, the people were the Ad-ami, the people of "Ad," or Atlantis.
Across the ocean we find the people of Guatemala claiming their descent from a goddess called At-tit, or grandmother, who lived for four hundred years, and first taught the worship of the true God, which they afterward forgot.
75.) While the famous Mexican calendar stone shows that the sun was commonly called tonatiuh but when it was referred to as the god of the Deluge it was then called Atl-tona-ti-uh, or At-onatiuh.
We shall find, as we proceed, that the Phœnicians were unquestionably identified with Atlantis, and that it was probably from Atlantis they derived their god Baal, or Bel, or El, whose name crops out in the Bel of the Babylonians, the Elohim, and the Beelzebub of the Jews, and the Allah of the Arabians, And we find that this great deity, whose worship extended so widely among the Mediterranean races, was known and adored also upon the northern and western coasts of Europe.
We shall see hereafter that the mythological traditions of Greece referred to a Bronze Age which preceded an Iron Age, and placed this in the land of the gods, which was an island in the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the Pillars of Hercules; and this land was, as we shall see, clearly Atlantis.
They associated Orion with Osiris, the god of the underworld, and the afterlife, and Sirius with Isis.
The Egyptians spoke of their hieroglyphic system of writing not as their own invention, but as "the language of the gods." (Lenormant and Cheval, "Anc.
208.) "The gods" were, doubtless, their highly civilized ancestors--the people of Atlantis--who, as we shall hereafter see, became the gods of many of the Mediterranean races.
[paragraph continues]Maya, were supplied by imitating the Maya sign for b; and it is a curious fact that while the Phœnician legends claim that Taaut invented the art of writing, yet they tell us that Taaut made records, and "delivered them to his successors and to foreigners, of whom one was Isiris (Osiris, the Egyptian god), the inventor of the three letters." Did these three letters include the d and r, which they did not receive from the Atlantean alphabet, as represented to us by the Maya alphabet?
Vishnu became a fish; and after the Deluge, when the waters had subsided, he recovered the holy books from the bottom of the ocean." Berosus, speaking of the time before the Deluge, says: "Oannes wrote concerning the generations of mankind and their civil polity." The Hebrew commentators on Genesis say, "Our rabbins assert that Adam, our father of blessed memory, composed a book of precepts, which were delivered to him by God in Paradise." (Smith's "Sacred Annals," p.
3.) Suidas, a Greek lexicographer of the eleventh century, expresses tradition when he says, "Adam was the author of arts and letters." The Egyptians said that their god Anubis was an antediluvian, and it wrote annals before the Flood." The Chinese have traditions that the earliest race of their nation, prior to history, "taught all the arts of life and wrote books." "The Goths always had the use of letters;" and Le Grand affirms that before or soon after the Flood "there were found the acts of great men engraved in letters on large stones." (Fosbroke's "Encyclopædia of Antiquity," vol.
i., 2), "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The Quiche legend says, "The Creator--the Former, the Dominator--the feathered serpent--those that give life, moved upon the waters like a glowing light."
i., 9), "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so." The Quiche legend says, "The creative spirits cried out 'Earth!' and in an instant it was formed, and rose like a vapor-cloud; immediately the plains and the mountains arose, and the cypress and pine appeared."
The Bible tells us, "And God saw that it was good." The Quiche legend says, "Then Gucumatz was filled with joy, and cried out, 'Blessed be thy coming, O Heart of Heaven, Hurakan, thunder-bolt.'"
ii., 7) we are told, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." The Quiche legend says.
In the Indian legend the gods stop the work by a great storm, in the Bible account by confounding the speech of the people.
ii., 21) that "the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam," and while he slept God made Eve out of one of his ribs.
iii., 22), "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:" therefore God drove him out of the garden.
In the Quiche legends we are told, "The gods feared
Both had an ark, the abiding-place of an invisible god.
"But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses." (Psa., lxviii., 21.)
The essence of religion is conservatism; little is invented; nothing perishes; change comes from without; and even when one religion is supplanted by another its gods live on as the demons of the new faith, or they pass into the folk-lore and fairy stories of the people.
We see Votan, a hero in America, become the god Odin or Woden in Scandinavia; and when his worship as a god dies out Odin survives (as Dr.
William Tell never existed; he is a myth; a survival of the sun-god Apollo, Indra, who was worshipped on the altars of Atlantis.
The vital conviction which, during thousands of years, at all times pressed home upon the Israelites, was that they were a "chosen people," selected out of all the multitude of the earth, to perpetuate the great truth that there was but one God--an illimitable, omnipotent, paternal spirit, who rewarded the good and punished the wicked--in contradistinction from the multifarious, subordinate, animal and bestial demi-gods of the other nations of the earth.
This sublime monotheism could only have been the outgrowth of a high civilization, for man's first religion is necessarily a worship of "stocks and stones," and history teaches us that the gods decrease in number as man increases in intelligence.
The proverbs of "Ptah-hotep," the oldest book of the Egyptians, show that this most ancient colony from Atlantis received the pure faith from the mother-land at the very dawn of history: this book preached the doctrine of one God, "the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked." (Reginald S.
38.) "In the early days the Egyptians worshipped one only God, the maker of all things, without beginning and without end.
If the Spirit of which the universe is but an expression--of whose frame the stars are the infinite molecules--can be supposed ever to interfere with the laws of matter and reach down into the doings of men, would it not be to save from the wreck and waste of time the most sublime fruit of the civilization of the drowned Atlantis--a belief in the one, only, just God, the father of all life, the imposer of all moral obligations?
We have in the Greek mythology legends of the introduction of most of these by Atlantean kings or gods into Europe; but no European nation
All the traditions of the Mediterranean races look to the ocean as the source of men and gods.
"Ocean, the origin of gods and Mother Tethys."
The god of the Welsh triads, "Hu the mighty," is found in the Hu-nap-bu, the hero-god of the Quiches; in Hu-napu, a hero-god; and in Hu-hu-nap-hu, in Hu-ncam, in Hu-nbatz, semi-divine heroes of the Quiches.