Was God's wife edited out of the Bible? Atheist claims the Almighty had partner known as Asherah

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No.

Keep your eyes focused on the Catholic Church, and you will not fall into error.

God is under attack-especially today-this is just 1 attack.

Let’s see: Catholic Church -or- Atheist. Catholic Church -or- Atheist. Catholic Church -or- Atheist…

An Atheist is one who **doesn’t believe **in God.

Think about it. So, why would she care?

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
 
An oxymoron.

An Atheist making difinitive statements about God (who Atheists say doesn’t exist).

uh huh.

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
 
There is some Biblical evidence that this goddess existed at the same time, she’s mentioned in the Book of Kings.

However, this atheist’s evidence linking the goddess to Yahweh is flimsy. To sum it up “They existed at the same time, so maybe they were presented together as husband and wife. Oh, also - maybe Eve wasn’t the first woman!”

🤷
 
LemonAndLime said:
There is some Biblical evidence that this goddess existed at the same time, she’s mentioned in the Book of Kings.

However, this atheist’s evidence linking the goddess to Yahweh is flimsy. To sum it up “They existed at the same time, so maybe they were presented together as husband and wife. Oh, also - maybe Eve wasn’t the first woman!”

🤷
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You got any proof on that?

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
 
Here is some proof “of that”. It doesn’t bode well that instead of considering there may be a flimsy link that you have instantly gone on the offensive and assumed there is no “evidence” of this goddess ever existed. Ye of little faith! Can you be that easily shaken by an atheist? 🤷

And thank you, Jharek.

The Atheist said:
'Far more significant is the Bible’s admission that the goddess Asherah was worshipped in Yahweh’s temple in Jerusalem. In the Book Of Kings, we’re told that a statue of Asherah was housed in the temple and that female temple personnel wove ritual textiles for her.
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dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367981/Atheist-Dr-Francesca-Stavrakopoulout-BBC-face-religion.html#ixzz1HAAunsrz
In the meantime the lay worshippers also prayed, kneeling, and paid their homage by kissing the images or symbols of the Baal (III Kings, xix, 18; Os., xiii, 2, Hebr.), or even their own hands. To this should be added the immoral practices indulged in at several shrines (III Kings, xiv, 24; IV Kings, xxiii, 7; cf. Deut., xxiii, 18) in honor of the Baal as male principle of reproduction, and of his mate Asherah (D. V. Astarthe, A. V. Ashtaroth).
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oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Baal_%28or_Baalim%29
Asherah -
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  1. References to the Goddess:
    Her “image” is mentioned in the Old Testament (1 Ki 15:13; 2 Ki 21:7; 2 Ch 15:16), as well as her “prophets” (1 Ki 18:19) and the vessels used in her service (2 Ki 23:4). In Assyria the name appears under the two forms of Asratu and Asirtu; it was to Asratu that a monument found near Diarbekir was dedicated on behalf of Khammu-rabi (Amraphel) “king of the Amorites,” and the Amorite king of whom we hear so much in Tell el-Amarna Letters bears the name indifferently of EbedAsrati and Ebed-Asirti.
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bible-history.com/isbe/A/ASHERAH/

So to sum up - yes this goddess did exist in Biblical times, but a source I found here on CAF stated that Baal was her mate, not Yahweh. This woman’s evidence is circumstantial at best.
 
So, for starters, do you believe Baal is God?

I gotta run…I’ll be back later.

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
 
DawnInTexas said:
So, for starters, do you believe Baal is God?

I gotta run…I’ll be back later.

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
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No I do not. But some people did worship him as a God, according to Scripture and documented human history.

Why is it that you’re struggling with this notion of other people worshipping different God’s? Do you really feel that our faith is being attacked by this? 🤷
 
Biblical evidence seems to suggest that the the history of Israel was rige with polytheism and idolatry from the worship of the golden calf in Exodus until the end of the nation at the hands of the Assyrians. Hosea especially compared this punishment for idolatery in terms of an adultress relationship.

It doesn’t seem that this was edited out of the bible in any way, shape or form.
 
LemonAndLime said:
There is some Biblical evidence that this goddess existed at the same time, she’s mentioned in the Book of Kings.

However, this atheist’s evidence linking the goddess to Yahweh is flimsy. To sum it up “They existed at the same time, so maybe they were presented together as husband and wife. Oh, also - maybe Eve wasn’t the first woman!”

🤷
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Feminists speak of Lilith as being the first woman.
 
I once had a teacher that claimed that Satan made a fourth temptation. In this one, he took Jesus to the future and showed Jesus that people would sin in his name and that he should bow down to Satan if he wants it to stop

Why do I bring this up? Mainly because he presented no definitive Biblical proof, just like this theolog…Oh wait, he’s not a theologian, nor is he an apologist
 
I am just surprised by the claim that this was edited out of the Bible, or somehow covered up. Solomon getting caught up in such worship through the influence of his wives is the main reason for the division of his united kingdom in the first place. The incidents of polytheistic worship of other gods and goddesses, child sacrafice to Molech, idolatry, and rejection of Yaweh for other gods, are a main theme running throughout the books of the Bible.

Certainly Catholics most visibly, but ancient Israel too, do recognize the people of God as the Bride of Christ, or Jerusalem as playing the similar role as God’s betrothed. That is why Hosea in particular defines Israel’s idolatry in terms of adultery.

And yes, the myths on Lilith are ancient. Even atheist feminists still find the myth useful in their fight against the patriarchy of the Bible, apparently. I am just trying to surmise the proably worldview of this atheist professor, with the facts that are available.
 
Darryl1958 said:
Feminists speak of Lilith as being the first woman.
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Well, some feminists invoke the myth of Lilith, who appears in ancient Jewish lore.
In an effort to explain inconsistencies in the Old Testament, there developed in Jewish literature a complex interpretive system called the midrash which attempts to reconcile biblical contradictions and bring new meaning to the scriptural text.
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Employing both a philological method and often an ingenious imagination, midrashic writings, which reached their height in the 2nd century CE, influenced later Christian interpretations of the Bible. Inconsistencies in the story of Genesis, especially the two separate accounts of creation, received particular attention. Later, beginning in the 13th century CE, such questions were also taken up in Jewish mystical literature known as the Kabbalah.
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According to midrashic literature, Adam’s first wife was not Eve but a woman named Lilith, who was created in the first Genesis account. Only when Lilith rebelled and abandoned Adam did God create Eve, in the second account, as a replacement. In an important 13th century Kabbalah text, the Sefer ha-Zohar (“The Book of Splendour”) written by the Spaniard Moses de Leon (c. 1240-1305), it is explained that:
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Code: 
  At the same time Jehovah created Adam, he created a woman, Lilith, who like Adam was taken from the earth. She was given to Adam as his wife. But there was a dispute between them about a matter that when it came before the judges had to be discussed behind closed doors. She spoke the unspeakable name of Jehovah and vanished.
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witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/7evelilith.html

I think the appeal of Lilith for some feminists is her insistence that she was the equal of Adam.
 
LemonAndLime said:
Here is some proof “of that”. It doesn’t bode well that instead of considering there may be a flimsy link that you have instantly gone on the offensive and assumed there is no “evidence” of this goddess ever existed. Ye of little faith! Can you be that easily shaken by an atheist? 🤷

And thank you, Jharek.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367981/Atheist-Dr-Francesca-Stavrakopoulout-BBC-face-religion.html#ixzz1HAAunsrz

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Baal_%28or_Baalim%29

bible-history.com/isbe/A/ASHERAH/

So to sum up - yes this goddess did exist in Biblical times, but a source I found here on CAF stated that Baal was her mate, not Yahweh. This woman’s evidence is circumstantial at best.
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👍👍

I would call it…hmmmm…contrived… in an attempt to promote a reason / justification for choice of atheism.

What is up with atheists? They don’t believe in God…BUT need a reason to justify that belief? 🤷🤷
 
Actually this recent “revelation” isn’t new. A previous post here on Catholic Answers posed the question “What was the religion of the Jews before Judaism?” and since it intrigued me I did a bit of research and found out about Asherah among others. Five years ago an archaeologist called William Dever wrote a book called “Did God have a wife?” although apparently it didn’t have a public impact.
It’s all fascinating, but if it turns out to be true that there was a belief that Yahweh had a divine consort, I doubt it would affect anyone’s modern religious stance.
 
DawnInTexas said:
You got any proof on that?

God Bless you.
+Jesus, I Trust In You!
Love, Dawn
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According to the documentary hypothesis, the majority of the forty references to Asherah in the Hebrew Bible derive from the Deuteronomist, always in a hostile framework: the Deuteronomist judges the kings of Israel and Judah according to how rigorously they uphold Yahwism and suppress the worship of Asherah and other deities. King Manasseh, for example is said to have placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple, and was therefore one who “did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 21:7); but king Hezekiah “removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah”, (2 Kings 18.4), and was noted as the most righteous of Judah’s kings before the coming of the reformer Josiah, in whose reign the Deuteronomistic history of the kings was composed. In addition to the authors of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Kings, and Judges, the prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 17:8, 27:9), Jeremiah (Jereimiah 17:2), and Micah (Micah 5:14) also condemned worship of Asherah and praised turning from this idolatry to worship Yahweh alone as the true God.

The Hebrew Bible uses the term asherah in two senses, as a cult object and as a divine name.22] As a cult object, the asherah can be “made”, “cut down”, and “burnt”, and Deuteronomy 16:21 prohibits the planting of trees as asherah, implying that a stylised tree or lopped trunk is intended.23] At other verses a goddess is clearly intended, as, for example, 2 Kings 23:4-7, where items are being made “for Baal and Asherah”.24] The references to asherah in Isaiah 17:8 and 2:8 suggest that there was no distinction in ancient thought between the object and the goddess.25]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah#Biblical_sources
 
LemonAndLime said:
There is some Biblical evidence that this goddess existed at the same time, she’s mentioned in the Book of Kings.

However, this atheist’s evidence linking the goddess to Yahweh is flimsy. To sum it up “They existed at the same time, so maybe they were presented together as husband and wife. Oh, also - maybe Eve wasn’t the first woman!”

🤷
Click to expand...
LemonAndLime said:
There is some Biblical evidence that this goddess existed at the same time, she’s mentioned in the Book of Kings.

However, this atheist’s evidence linking the goddess to Yahweh is flimsy. To sum it up “They existed at the same time, so maybe they were presented together as husband and wife. Oh, also - maybe Eve wasn’t the first woman!”

🤷
Click to expand...
HI LemonAndLime,

Fist, let me congratulate you on your soon-to-be fully received into the Catholic Church this coming Easter! How wonderful! :extrahappy:

Asherah was one of many “gods and goddessess” worshipped by pagan believers in ancient times. In the Old Testament, as the Hebrew nation was maturing in their understanding of who God was over many hundreds of years, their earlier belief still held that there were many gods/goddesses, but that God (YHWH), was the supreme God who created all things. As their understanding of God developed and matured, they came to realize that there was ONLY ONE GOD, not many gods and goddesses, although pagan cultures still believed and practiced polytheism.

As for Lillith, this demon is mentioned only once in the Bible:

Isaiah 34:14 NRSA
Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest.

She was believed in folklore to be a night demon; a female demon who haunted ruins and took the lives of children. The “goat-demons” is rendered as “satyrs” in some translations, for they still believed in these mythological beings.(See also Leviticus 17:7)

Additional folklore among Jewish peoples developed later, and depicted Lilith as being a vengeful demon who stole children’s lives. Eight days after the birth of a male child and 20 days after the birth of a female child were believed to be at risk for death for these newborns where Lilith could take the lives of these newborns and other children unless protected by certain amulets.

These tales developed over time and have no truth regarding the Adam and Eve story as told in Genesis.

God did not, nor does he, have a spouse named Asherah. Adam had only one spouse who was created by God: Eve.

blessings,
CEM
 
This is all pretty funny.

Yes the Bible does mention other gods like Asherah, Baal, Molech etc.

Yes the Israelites did worship them.

That’s the entire point of the Biblical story.

God took the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.

The land was occupied by evil pagan people who worshipped false gods and did other very wicked things.

The people of this land knew what God did for the Israelites and His judgment upon the Egyptian gods and they knew exactly why God was coming to wipe them out and displace them. They knew it since the time God promised it to Abraham. But they decided to fight against God anyway.

God warned the Israelites that he was giving them this land not because they were good but that the people there had been much worse and it was judgment day for them because He gave them over 400 years to change and they didn’t.

God ordered the Israelites to completely wipe out all those that remained within the land. Those that escaped or fled to the Israelites and repented and converted would not die. God also ordered them to destroy all the false gods etc. and raze the cities that were veyr evil to the ground. Cities that weren’t so evil weren’t destroyed.

God warned the Israelites that if they ever became like the people in their land and worshipped their gods they would likewise be punished.

The Israelites however didn’t follow God’s commands. They spared the lives of some of these evil people and intermarried with them and entered into treaties with others. As a result some of the Israelites fell into sin. Israel had it’s ups and downs, in the time following Joshua when there was no king they did whatever they wanted. Occasionally Judges would help them, but the cycle of sin would repeat after they were saved. Finally David, who was faithful to God accomplished the complete conquering of the Promised Land. His son Solomon took over, but Solomon, out of greed for wealth entered treaties with many pagan nations and took wives as part of those treaties. These pagan wives led him to sin and allow them to worship their gods. This subsequently led the Israelites into sin. Sin led to worshipping false gods throughout Israel. This led to division and civil war and violent conflict. Inevitably to Exile…

There is no cover-up. The Bible honestly relates the sinfulness of Israel and what led to their worst moments. The Israels did worship Asherah and other idols and followed heresies about their faith and sinned against God.

I don’t hold any high degrees, and I know all this. Just goes to show how worthless the title of ‘scholars’ especially when given to atheists these days are completely meaningless. These ‘scholars’ are only imagining things they want to believe in vain attempts to hide from the truth.
 
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