Questions to Christians

Please note that these are legitimate questions and are in no way meant to spark a debate. They may seem like I'm trying to disprove your religious beliefs but that is not the case, I am interested in your answer.

I would be very grateful if anyone could answer any of the few questions I have to ask you.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I don't know if anyone will answer these or not, but I would appreciate any input because I am interested. Like I said before, I am not trying to start a debate, disprove your beliefs or anything other than learn about your opinions. I'm after a friendly discussion. I myself am Agnostic and like to look at the world from a scientific point of view.

(My knowledge on religious beliefs is not great, please point out any mistakes)

Thank you.

Originally posted by SpearMint
Please note that these are legitimate questions and are in no way meant to spark a debate. They may seem like I'm trying to disprove your religious beliefs but that is not the case, I am interested in your answer.

I would be very grateful if anyone could answer any of the few questions I have to ask you.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I don't know if anyone will answer these or not, but I would appreciate any input because I am interested. Like I said before, I am not trying to start a debate, disprove your beliefs or anything other than learn about your opinions. I'm after a friendly discussion. I myself am Agnostic and like to look at the world from a scientific point of view.

(My knowledge on religious beliefs is not great, please point out any mistakes)

Thank you.

Nothing wrong with asking questions. Someone secure in their faith wouldn't be offended by someone asking a few thoughtful questions. I'm gonna see if I can take a crack at a few here.

1) This falls along the lines of people worshipping idols even down the very day the commandments were presented. It's believed it was a habit that the Jews picked up from the Egyptians, who had a great deal of "gods" as I'm sure you know. So this commandment kills two birds with one stone. It tells them to stop worshipping false gods and quit building your own for worship, because God is the one and only true God.

2) Man was made on the sixth day, all the races. God then rested a day (the sabbath). When he awoke, he created Adam from the dust. That's how I read it anyways, and it explains how the human race propagated from more than just two humans in the garden. Adam and Eve's bloodline is special because it would be the bloodline the messiah would come through. But as God said after he made mankind on the six day, "it was good." He loves all his creation.

3) I think they fall in line with the sixth day creation. Also I believe there are evolutions in the species as well as other species that do take place by the law of abdapation. This doesn't disprove the word to me, so much as simply show that you can't explain eugenetics to an anchient people.
I know there are those on this site that believe we were hyperadvanced back in the day, and I can respect that. But I don't think people, like the Egyptains for example, they pulled out the brain before mummification because they deemed it worthless. Just taking up space to keep the skull from collaypsing. Now, you're going to explain genetics in a religious doctorine to those who don't even understand biology? I'm not saying the Eygyptians were dumb, in fact, I use them as my example because they were anything but.

4) Nope, I think God can create life whereever he wants, whenever he wants. How that species is judged and all that isn't up to me. After all, God told me He's the judge, so if there's another or multiple alien races, He'll judge them, not me.

5) I think it was part of the building of a world. The dinosaurs die out and become oil. Before they were oil, they were fertilizer, so to speak. Plus, there's the whole nephilim theory. Where the bones of the dinosaurs are actually the nephilim and great beasts that you read about. In the end, I have no solid answer for you on that, very good and tricky question (not saying you were trying to trip me up of anything, promise.). But those are a few ideas I've read on the subject.

6) I don't judge people on their religion. I just know what Christ has done for me in my life. It is a personal relationship, so while able to offer testimonial, I really feel it is one of those "until you experince it, it can be hard to believe it." And that's fine. Jesus said we should show our faith in our walk (to be continued...)

Originally posted by SpearMint
Please note that these are legitimate questions and are in no way meant to spark a debate. They may seem like I'm trying to disprove your religious beliefs but that is not the case, I am interested in your answer.

I would be very grateful if anyone could answer any of the few questions I have to ask you.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I don't know if anyone will answer these or not, but I would appreciate any input because I am interested. Like I said before, I am not trying to start a debate, disprove your beliefs or anything other than learn about your opinions. I'm after a friendly discussion. I myself am Agnostic and like to look at the world from a scientific point of view.

(My knowledge on religious beliefs is not great, please point out any mistakes)

Thank you.

1) The Bible makes clear elsewhere that the God who laid down the Commandment considers other gods to be mere idols, made by the hands of man, and not worthy of worship. He even says that He laughs at them.

2) The human race actually has less genetic variation than many species. That said, all humans are descended from Noah, Noah's wife, and the wives of Noah's three sons. Shem, Japheth, and Ham had only the genetic information they received from their parents, so they don't really count. In a very broad sense, Shem gave rise to the "Semitic" (actually Shemitic) peoples, that is to say the "white" or Caucasian race, Japheth gave rise to the "yellow" or Asian race, and Ham gave rise to the "black" or African race. At the Tower of Babel incident, people left for parts unknown in small groups. These groups each had a genetic roll of the dice, so to speak. Each group became a tribe, each tribe became a nation, and in time, races appeared. We're all family, however, and the genetic situation is really far more complicated than the three race idea would indicate.

My daughter just called, so I will answer more questions later.

[continued from above...] (How we treat others) not to brow beat people into believing. Because that never works. To dismis another simply because they don't share my religion is hardly being fair or just. But you know who did act like that, the Pharases. Yep, the people that killed Christ did it because they couldn't accept the ideas he presented with an open mind. And even if you could say "well, you don't accept Allah". Yeah, you're right, but I don't crusify (figuratively or literally) muslims either. I think that would make me as much a hypocrit as the people that killed my Messiah.

Just my two cents, I hope this was positive and informative. Either way, I appericate the time you took to read it all. ^.^

Lasr1oftheJedi- said it perfect. Especially the 6th and final question. Nothing else needs to be said.

Originally posted by SpearMint
Please note that these are legitimate questions and are in no way meant to spark a debate. They may seem like I'm trying to disprove your religious beliefs but that is not the case, I am interested in your answer.

I would be very grateful if anyone could answer any of the few questions I have to ask you.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I don't know if anyone will answer these or not, but I would appreciate any input because I am interested. Like I said before, I am not trying to start a debate, disprove your beliefs or anything other than learn about your opinions. I'm after a friendly discussion. I myself am Agnostic and like to look at the world from a scientific point of view.

(My knowledge on religious beliefs is not great, please point out any mistakes)

Thank you.

answer #1 False gods I know that's not literal translation and also what your not looking for sorry
Answer #2 I believe as humans we adapted to our environment just like how members of the same species in different locations adapted to theirs making them look different
answer#3 people before the flood and people after the flood
answer#4 No I don't think i would lose my faith at lest i hope not.
answer#5 I don't know? Luck doesn't play a role in it. Why is the bible the best selling book of all time? Why did it survive when owning or preaching it could get you killed? Its quite amazing if you think about it.
answer#6 I asked for proof and got it.How you ask? I laid on my bed and had an obe where I saw my body floating above my self like looking into a mirror. Do I expect people to believe this? not really but it happened and for me that's enough.

Also I have found things out about the bible that are interesting. you learn things that only pertain to you and are life changing realizations if you search for meaning in its words but the same verse could have changed someone else's life in a totally different way and have a totally different meaning to them.
I think people get to caught up in literal translations expecting everyone to get the same message in every verse but it doesn't work that way

Thank you everyone for the great answers!
Its late so im off to bed, but more answers are very welcome and I'll read them in the morning. It was very interesting reading what you guys had to say. Thanks again. I'll reply more in-depth to you when im not so tired.

reply to post by SpearMint


1) Attached is a scholarly paper that provides biblical support for "gods." Granted the idea of "gods" is more or less unorthodox among Christians, but Dr. Michael Heiser makes a strong case in my opinion.

www.thedivinecouncil.com...

2) I can't explain variances in skin color; however, you may find this interesting: www.aolnews.com...

I'm not suggesting this answers your question in terms of Christianity, other than to suggest there may remain much we have yet to understand. Besides that I don't think it's uncommon for variances in ethnicity to occur among groups who fall within the category of same race. More specifically, I think ethnicity centers on culture & environment & not race.

3) I have no opinion. For that matter I have no answer.

4) I accept that life most probably exists outside of Earth. As such it has no bearing on my religious beliefs.

5) See #3

6) See #3

Tough questions, but good questions. Unfortunately I've very little in the way of concrete answers, but I prefer to simply say "I don't know" when "I don't know."

1. I interpret the commandment like so: "before me" means "to value higher than me" and "gods" means something that you idolize/worship/give praise to/honor. So I think it means "do not worship or idolize anything with higher regard than me."

2. I look at the creation story as an over simplified analogy of how we came about. Meaning, God gave an analogy that was too simplistic for our modern day acceptance. To answer the question. I think the different races came from evolution.

3. I don't like how you say "we have proof" when there is only evidence to suggest. To answer the hypothetical question - the way our species has evolved in to what it is now is irrelevant if you understand the creation story in the Bible was a simplified analogy given to our ancestors, a species of ape with less aptitude than the modern day apes known as homo sapiens.

4. No. It wouldn't even surprise me. Why should life on other planets affect how we feel about the creator of this reality? Should we be jealous? I'm not.

5. Knowing everything that came before me is irrelevant to the answer. I think evolution was one of the attributes God knowingly gave our realm when he created it. I think God exists in a realm where time does not and because of this, he is able to see what we will become, and he favors it. By what means he created us - I do not care; but yes, I would say we're very lucky.

6. I'm not sure, but it is the one that makes the most sense to me so I chose it for guidance.

Originally posted by SpearMint
1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god?

Others on this thread have pointed out what the first commandment is really getting at.
I'm only going to add that your idea of the implication is a misunderstanding.

"Beware of imitations" has always been a common theme in advertising.
The whole point of the instruction is that there is only one genuine Rolex, Cointreau, or whatever, namely the one that comes from the original producer. Anything else claiming that name is a fake, and THAT is the reason why they should be avoided. Everybody understands that. Nobody ever looks at these warnings and says "Ah, that proves there must be more than one kind of Rolex".

"No other gods but me" is exactly the same kind of logic. There's a phrase elsewhere in the Bible "those that are called gods". The Biblical claim is that there is only one genuine God, the Creator of the world. Other entities being offered for worship under that name have no real power and no real existence, and THAT is precisely the reason why they need to be ignored

reply to post by SpearMint


1) There aren't other Gods, but the Lord is instructing people who hold or believe in other gods. Especially the Hebrews who had just spend 400 years in Egypt where there are numerous gods.

2) We're all humans. The different variations within the species are encoded in the human genome.

3) I think they were humans who lived a very long time, or pre-flood man.

4) I already think the "Great Deception" of the end times will be that we are the seeding of aliens from another planet. I've been saying that for years. two of the greatest UFOlogists in the history of man both say these entities are "demonic" and "extra-dimensional, not extra-terrestrial". And these guys aren't Christians, Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Dr. Jacques Vallee.

5) I don't believe He did. Dinosaurs walked with man for numerous reasons I believe.

6) Anyone who has had a personal revelation of Christ has no reason to look at other "religions", Christ is Lord. (Christianity isn't a religion, it's a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.)

Yes, there were other gods. The god of the Old Testament only showed himself to a chosen few. Other societies, such as Egypt, Persia, Greece and India, just to name a few, had gods that were just a real to them as Jehovah was to Abraham.

Hercules, Zeus, Mithra, Krishna, Baal and others were well known. The god of the Old Testament knew he had competition, and made an attempt to assert himself over the others. One could go so far as to believe that these "gods" warred with one another. Now they're all gone.

reply to post by SpearMint


1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

Dealing with pagan gods/false idols/self. There were other "gods." The Jewish people were selected by God through Noah because Noah's bloodlines were not tainted by the fallen angels, and thus righteous.

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

Adam and Eve weren't the only people on earth, genesis 1 spoke of God speaking to all of mankind to be fruitful and multiply.

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

The bible only deals with this cycle.

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

Not at all.

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

To my limited knowledge, the bible only deals with this cycle of man. I can't really explicate on this question. But I can ask a question for this: If dinosaurs were to have never existed, how would we travel and be in the position that we are now in globally? And, we weren't "lucky." We were planned to be here.

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

Mainstream and organized Christianity has tons of problems in accordance to scripture, such as the 10 percent tithing rule, true day of sabbath, etc. The truths of Christianity: Jesus Christ, the begotten Son of God, is Lord; He is God in the flesh. Worshiping the Son is giving honor to the Father. There are a lot of paths to God but those paths are so broad and so easy to take a detour to destruction. The three main Abrahamic religions all worship the same God, one might be more inclined to take Islam over Christianity due to cultural reasons and such. When one's heart is diligently and purely turned to the Father, imo, the truth of Christ becomes more apparent.

double post. delete please

reply to post by SpearMint


1. No other Gods before me...

It is written in the OT and Jesus quoted in the new, "I have said you are gods." But to be very clear, the "g" is not capitalized, and therein lies the difference - big G trumps the little g.

Also the little "g" gods are referred to as "sons of the most high" (Psalm 82:6). Bowing down to idols made of wood etc was very problematic in the OT. A clear picture of what a real "god" should be able to do emerges in the text of the prophet Isaiah. The LORD basically taunted those who foolishly believed in idols, to bring them in and present their case and to set forth their arguements before him:

'Bring in [ your idols] to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.' Is 41:22-23

Of course they can't because they are figments of their own imagination, that only have meaning because their own hands shaped them into the form of something, so he tells them:

'But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable.' Is 41:24

2. Explaining ethnicity....

Good question and beyond my scope.Lol However, I will say that when you mix 2 of anything it changes. I would bet good money, that the description of Jesus being albino-like in Rev 1:14 will ultimately factor in.

3. Neanderthals...

I don't really have an opinion but will say that man was created before what was created in Eden and this is most likely the answer. After leaving Eden, having children, and them growing up it says the children took wives in the land of Nod. It is at this point that the original family of Eden mixed with what was outside of Eden.

4. Life on other planets...

I'm a christian and I firmly believe there is life on other planets. Some more evolved and some less. It doesn't factor in to my belief system in the least.

5. Dinosaurs and luck...

All life has a purpose. I don't believe in luck but do believe in predestination.

6. What makes me sure my religion is true...

Because of my experiences with him and the way he has revealed himself to me prooves he's the one and only - Jesus.

Originally posted by windword
Yes, there were other gods. The god of the Old Testament only showed himself to a chosen few. Other societies, such as Egypt, Persia, Greece and India, just to name a few, had gods that were just a real to them as Jehovah was to Abraham.

Hercules, Zeus, Mithra, Krishna, Baal and others were well known. The god of the Old Testament knew he had competition, and made an attempt to assert himself over the others. One could go so far as to believe that these "gods" warred with one another. Now they're all gone.

Yes, there were real entities showing themselves to those other cultures and empires, but they were not gods. They were the fallen angels who desired worship. The OP asked about other gods. All those fallen angels posing as gods were not.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Says you. Those religions, the deities that those people interacted with, were just as valid as the god of Abraham and Moses. They are ALL gone now.

Jehovah, or whatever his new Christian name is these days, is not flying around in his "pillar of fire" anymore. He's gone! The gods of Homer are gone.

Krishna isn't flying around in his vimana, and all those flying feather serpent gods from China and the Americas are ALL gone.

reply to post by SpearMint


Im not a christian, but those are some pretty interesting questions. So I'll give it a shot.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

It doesn't have to mean that there are other gods.... its probably a way of saying "there are no other gods but Me".
If a man were to tell his biological son "call nobody else your father", does it mean there exists a possibility that somebody else fathered the son??

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

I don't know...and I don't think anybody can claim to know the "ethnicity" of the original humans.
My guess is that God designed the human DNA to allow for the many races that we have, naturally.

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

I believe the Neanderthals were the Nephilim.....and also that our idea of ancient people being "primitive cavemen" are flawed.

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

Not at all. Why should it change?

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

The simple answer is that God creates and destroys as He pleases.

Going beyond that, I believe God, being fully aware of every atom in existence.... decides the time any organism gets to live. The dinosaurs had their time and they were removed from existence.
We humans may also become extinct and God can create an entirely new intelligent species to take over the earth... if He chooses to.

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Religions emerges from a faith in God.... not the other way round.

reply to post by SpearMint

Well, I am tired, but I'll take a stab here. Be aware that I am well read on the Bible and associated things, and consider myself a Wiccan.

1) The first commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ". I immediately interpret this as implying that there are other gods. What would be the point in this if there is one god? Surely it would at least be worded differently, what is your opinion on this?

Well certainly there are other Gods, and Goddesses, in fact, thousands of them are all through history. 18 in the King James alone, and most desire to be called "Lord".

2) Considering your beliefs regarding the creation of man, how do you explain Black, Asian and other people of different ethnicity to the supposed original humans? Where did they come from?

Because "God" didn't create humankind was we are, 18 different species collaborated for that genetic feat. That which is our Soul/Spirit is another matter. I have heard, operative word, that the Souls of humans originated in the Sirius System, but do not know for certain.

3) What do you think about Neanderthals and other species that competed with Homo Sapiens considering we have proof that they existed and competed with us, and even mated with us before dying out?

Sorry, but here on Terra, the rule is survival of the fittest. There is no evidence, know to me, that any mating between these two happened.

4) If we were to find life on another planet, be it intelligent or just single celled organisms, what would you have to say about that? Would you lose faith in what you believe, would your beliefs change?

Humankind will not be allowed to visit any inhabited planet until certain evolutions take place. What would happen if Humanity discovered a new planet, inhabited by humanoid beings? The government would militarize the operation, an invasion force would be sent, and that is that. Humans are too barbaric right now for space exploration.

5) Why did God create dinosaurs and so many other organisms before humans existed? It was hundreds of millions of years before we came about. Practice? Or were we just lucky to be the surviving race?

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts are part of the equation. The original inhabitants of this world. Their descendants still live here, in deep underground bases.

6) What is it that makes you sure that your religion is true and all others are wrong? Surely just an upbringing into a religion isn't enough to make you think this.

I do not know why Christians, and Muslims, and Hebrews think that they have the only correct religion and practice, and that the others are wrong, but they do. Christians and Muslims are killing each other on a daily basis, and Hebrews consider Christians to be swine, while Christian America blindly supports Israel. What a wicked web we weave.

I would not say you made any mistakes, friend, and anyway, mistakes are the only real medium humans have that allows a learning platform. It is sad that some do not learn from their mistakes.

reply to post by windword


Yeah, says me. I'm the only one qualified to give my opinion. People aren't denying those folks talked to entities that called themselves gods. In fact the Bible mentions them, see Genesis 6. They are fallen angels.