NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, I just wanted to clear up some things for the record because I see the same simple mistakes being made in almost every Muslim-Chrisitan-Terrorist-Pie-w/e debate thread. That is, that some people have the misnomer that God is a different entity than Allah. The truth is, is that Yahweh, God, and Allah are actually all the exact same diety, but with different names in different languages. That's right.

I wanted to clear this up because many of the people who say things against Allah, are actually insulting their own God.

Wether you beleive that Jesus is God, or if God is God is up to you and I'm not discussing that, fyi b4 any posts.

Hope that Helped religious debaters!

Yahweh, God and Allah walk into a bar. Yahweh orders a glass of Manischevitz wine, God orders a beer, and Allah just gets a club soda with lime. The Bartender says, "That'll be 15 bucks, please." God pays. The Bartender says, "We don't usually get that many aspects of the deity in here at once," and Allah says, "At those prices, I'm not surprised!" :p

Of course the muslims believe allah is the same as the christian/jewish god, the question is do the christians/jews think so too?

I'm a christian and I believe so, but good luck with all the rest of us.:p

And in fact they (except Allah) use pretty much the same name. Iove/Jove (Jupiter in Latin), YHVH/Yahveh, Jehovah.
And the teachings are about the same history...

I wanted to clear this up because many of the people who say things against Allah, are actually insulting their own God.

I think it's more common that Christians and Jews criticise the Muslim interpretation of God's actions, or of what God is like.

Of course the muslims believe allah is the same as the christian/jewish god, the question is do the christians/jews think so too?

I'm a christian and I believe so, but good luck with all the rest of us.:p
I don't see how any Christian or Jew who actually knows about their religion and Islam could deny it.

Ok, I just wanted to clear up some things for the record because I see the same simple mistakes being made in almost every Muslim-Chrisitan-Terrorist-Pie-w/e debate thread. That is, that some people have the misnomer that God is a different entity than Allah. The truth is, is that Yahweh, God, and Allah are actually all the exact same diety, but with different names in different languages. That's right.

I wanted to clear this up because many of the people who say things against Allah, are actually insulting their own God.

Wether you beleive that Jesus is God, or if God is God is up to you and I'm not discussing that, fyi b4 any posts.

Hope that Helped religious debaters!



Allah, al-Ilah only means "the god", which is the same as Eloh in Hebrew (singular of Elohim).
Yah (the Ia/Ea/Eya of Mesopotamia) on the other hand is a name of this god (merged with his spouse into one deity Yahweh/yhvh).

I think it's more common that Christians and Jews criticise the Muslim interpretation of God's actions, or of what God is like.

Oh, that one is funny. Have you ever read the Bible?

I don't see how any Christian or Jew who actually knows about their religion and Islam could deny it.

trouble is not very many are informed about islam, to them its an alien religion. Lots of people don't even know its monotheistic.

Not very many are informed about islam, to them its an alien religion. Lots of people don't even know its monotheistic.

Well, the El-cult only has been monotheistic since the Jews made it thus somewhen between the return from exile around 530 and the start of the Hellenistic era around 320.
Christians and Muslims kept to that ideology.

I think everyone should learn what the Quo'ran is about. Go to Islamic faith leaders and ask them. It's the only way to learn, the only way to avoid insulting other people. Allah is the exact same god as the one the Christians and the Jews worship. Muslims do not deny that Jesus Christ existed, but they see him as one of a long line of prophets of whom Mohammed was the last.

And while we're at it... why hate people for believing in something? It'd be like me hating my little cousin 'cause she believes in Santa Clause...

... It'd be like me hating my little cousin 'cause she believes in Santa Clause...

You should hate those who put the Santa-Clause-crap into her mind.

You should hate those who put the Santa-Clause-crap into her mind.

I don't agree with this, religion isn't wholly evil; just easily manipulated into violence.

You should hate those who put the Santa-Clause-crap into her mind.

Ah, but the athiests might reply with "Then hate those who put the religion crap into people's minds." We all need to believe in something. Santa is an example of that. Santa is an important part of the lives of little kids. It brings them joy, in much the same way that our various religious beliefs bring us joy.

But why hate anyone? Where's the benefit?

Allah, al-Ilah only means "the god", which is the same as Eloh in Hebrew (singular of Elohim).
Yah (the Ia/Ea/Eya of Mesopotamia) on the other hand is a name of this god (merged with his spouse into one deity Yahweh/yhvh).

There was a spouse?!?!?! Didn't know that...

Ah, but the athiests might reply with "Then hate those who put the religion crap into people's minds." We all need to believe in something. Santa is an example of that. Santa is an important part of the lives of little kids. It brings them joy, in much the same way that our various religious beliefs bring us joy.

But why hate anyone? Where's the benefit?

Very true, they might. I wouldn't, but another atheist might. I wish you joy in your belief, I just can't join you in it.

And yes, hating people is ultimately counterproductive, though it apparently does make the hater feel better or at least justified, in the short term.

There was a spouse?!?!?! Didn't know that...

There was, indeed, there are even pottery bits showing Yahweh and his spouse. Seems I saw one such in an issue of Biblical Archeology Review some years ago. And around my office we always say that really big projects have to be signed off on by God and His Wife.

You know, I'm annoyed by people constantly calling the Christian God just God. It's Jehovah, okay? ~_~

Ah, but the athiests might reply with "Then hate those who put the religion crap into people's minds." We all need to believe in something. Santa is an example of that. Santa is an important part of the lives of little kids. It brings them joy, in much the same way that our various religious beliefs bring us joy.

But why hate anyone? Where's the benefit?

Joy is no criterion. The belief in a figure like Santa is insubstantial. There is not even the question of his existence as there is for the biblical god.
There is no reason to lie to a child by pretending there were figures like Santa or the Easter Bunny.

You know, I'm annoyed by people constantly calling the Christian God just God. It's Jehovah, okay? ~_~

Iehova is only the latinized rendition of the tetragrammaton yhvh
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Tetragrammaton_scripts.png

Actually the "Christian God" should be refered to as "that deviant biblical (Jewish) perspective on Yah".

Since Christinas believe that there is only one god, they assume that calling their god just God is sufficient.
That's what Muslims do with calling al-Ilah (the god) just Allah (the god).
Jews of course are afraid to call their god anything, that's why they've come up with all those substitutions like HaShem, Adonai, Baal, etc.

There was, indeed, there are even pottery bits showing Yahweh and his spouse. Seems I saw one such in an issue of Biblical Archeology Review some years ago.

Ita est.

And around my office we always say that really big projects have to be signed off on by God and His Wife.

:p

I think it's more common that Christians and Jews criticise the Muslim interpretation of God's actions, or of what God is like.


I don't see how any Christian or Jew who actually knows about their religion and Islam could deny it.

You hit the nail on the head there. The conservative religous movement (the ones who mostly question whether or not Allah and God are one and the same) in the US is full of people who know next to nothing about their faith. That's why they think that Christ stood for what the Republican party stood for. In truth the republicans are more a combination of the Pharoh and the Saducees.

Iehova is only the latinized rendition of the tetragrammaton yhvh
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Tetragrammaton_scripts.png

Actually the "Christian God" should be refered to as "that deviant biblical (Jewish) perspective on Yah".

Since Christinas believe that there is only one god, they assume that calling their god just God is sufficient.
That's what Muslims do with calling al-Ilah (the god) just Allah (the god).
Jews of course are afraid to call their god anything, that's why they've come up with all those substitutions like HaShem, Adonai, Baal, etc.

First off, God is what Christians call God so they're not calling him by name. The original prohibition on "taking the Lord's name in vain." And Christians have historically had all sorts of euphamisms for Yahweh. "The Lord." "Our Father." "The Heavenly Father." etc.

And Baal is not a substitution. It's the name of another god entirely.

God is Triune.

Yahweh and Allah are not. Therefore, they have different concepts of God. Though, the words may translate to the same thing, they are not the same concepts, so different Gods are being worshipped.

You hit the nail on the head there. The conservative religous movement (the ones who mostly question whether or not Allah and God are one and the same) in the US is full of people who know next to nothing about their faith. That's why they think that Christ stood for what the Republican party stood for. In truth the republicans are more a combination of the Pharoh and the Saducees.

You're right in the main, I think. I'm not sure about the Sadducee reference, though. We only know about what they believed through the writings of their critics, not their side of things.

Joy is no criterion. The belief in a figure like Santa is insubstantial. There is not even the question of his existence as there is for the biblical god.
There is no reason to lie to a child by pretending there were figures like Santa or the Easter Bunny.

a) you incorrectly believe there is an easter bunny and you get nothing. What have you lost?
b) you correctly don't believe there's an easter bunny and you get nothing.
c) you incorrectly believe there is no easter bunny and you get stiffed.
d) you correctly believe in the easter bunny and get candy.

I call it Cadbury's wager.

Ok, I just wanted to clear up some things for the record because I see the same simple mistakes being made in almost every Muslim-Chrisitan-Terrorist-Pie-w/e debate thread. That is, that some people have the misnomer that God is a different entity than Allah. The truth is, is that Yahweh, God, and Allah are actually all the exact same diety, but with different names in different languages. That's right.

I wanted to clear this up because many of the people who say things against Allah, are actually insulting their own God.

Wether you beleive that Jesus is God, or if God is God is up to you and I'm not discussing that, fyi b4 any posts.

Hope that Helped religious debaters!

It may be the same God but the way that God is worshipped and what he supposively wants us to do in life is of course what is debated.

You're right in the main, I think. I'm not sure about the Sadducee reference, though. We only know about what they believed through the writings of their critics, not their side of things.

It only matters that they were the oldest bastion of power in Judaism and they were clinging to a way of life that afforded them power, but was ultimatly doomed because the world was passing it by. In failing to adjust they doomed themselves along with their outdated nostalgic rules.

That's conservatism at it's finest. Gone with the wind in a Biblical setting. "Frankly my messiah! I don't believe in being damned."

God is Triune.

Yahweh and Allah are not. Therefore, they have different concepts of God. Though, the words may translate to the same thing, they are not the same concepts, so different Gods are being worshipped.

You mean that if you make up some new stuff you fundamentally change God's nature, or a new spirit will arive to fill the void?

You mean that if you make up some new stuff you fundamentally change God's nature, or a new spirit will arive to fill the void?

From a Christian perspective, you are worshipping your own creativity by changing your image of God to something more likable to you.

Different Gods is speaking to the concept of God. There is only one God, though many people have different understandings of Him.

You hit the nail on the head there. The conservative religous movement (the ones who mostly question whether or not Allah and God are one and the same) in the US is full of people who know next to nothing about their faith. That's why they think that Christ stood for what the Republican party stood for.
As an atheist how do you know more about what Christ stood for than half the Christians in your country?

Besides, they're more like neo-Pharisees. ;)

As an atheist how do you know more about what Christ stood for than half the Christians in your country?

Besides, they're more like neo-Pharisees. ;)
You say Pharisee, I say Sadducee ... let's call the whole thing off.

:p

And everyone knows Jesus was a long-haired hippie freak, anyway. Just look at the pictures of him.

God is Triune.

Yahweh and Allah are not. Therefore, they have different concepts of God. Though, the words may translate to the same thing, they are not the same concepts, so different Gods are being worshipped.

So did you read all the preceeding posts in this thread or did you just see the title on the list of threads, click on it, hit reply immediately and give us your little nugget of knowledge?

If you're going to make such a statement, please make some kind of attempt to back it up with logic based conclusions (preferably drawn from the History of Religion or the Bible or something).

Thanks.

So did you read all the preceeding posts in this thread or did you just see the title on the list of threads, click on it, hit reply immediately and give us your little nugget of knowledge?

If you're going to make such a statement, please make some kind of attempt to back it up with logic based conclusions (preferably drawn from the History of Religion or the Bible or something).

Thanks.

2000 years of what the Church has said it believes. How ever many years of what the Muslims and Jews have said they believe.

There you go.

2000 years of what the Church has said it believes. How ever many years of what the Muslims and Jews have said they believe.

There you go.

Except that the Triune vision of God was not codified into cannon law until the 4th century AD. It then took about 300 more years to convert the Arians (who were the major opposition to this view) to their side. Also, there still exists today branches of Christianity that do not believe in the Triune God.

Let me say this again (I know I've said it on another thread today). Christianity comes out of Judaisim, and Islam comes out of Christianity.

Judaisim sees Abraham as the final prophet, Christianity recognizes one more (Jesus), and Islam recognizes both Jesus (though not as savior) and one more, Mohammad. If we want to go even further and include the newest religion of the Abrahamic line, Baha'i recognizes Jesus, Mohammad, and one more prophet, Bahauulah (I cannot spell it correctly, sorry).

Mohammad, in the Quran, states that the God Islam worships is the same as the Christian God.

2000 years of what the Church has said it believes. How ever many years of what the Muslims and Jews have said they believe.

There you go.

Seems to me that if asked, a Jew would say that the God of his faith and that of the Christians were the same, but that the Christians had gotten it wrong about Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah. I'm not sure what a Muslim would say (this is all assuming the question and the answers were stripped of politics). Since Muslims do acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, while denying his divinity, the answer might be that yes, this is the same God, but that Islam has Him in his purest form.

Except that the Triune vision of God was not codified into cannon law until the 4th century AD. It then took about 300 more years to convert the Arians (who were the major opposition to this view) to their side. Also, there still exists today branches of Christianity that do not believe in the Triune God.

Let me say this again (I know I've said it on another thread today). Christianity comes out of Judaisim, and Islam comes out of Christianity.

Judaisim sees Abraham as the final prophet, Christianity recognizes one more (Jesus), and Islam recognizes both Jesus (though not as savior) and one more, Mohammad. If we want to go even further and include the newest religion of the Abrahamic line, Baha'i recognizes Jesus, Mohammad, and one more prophet, Bahauulah (I cannot spell it correctly, sorry).

Mohammad, in the Quran, states that the God Islam worships is the same as the Christian God.

No, Jews do not see Abraham as the final prophet, or they wouldn't have all the other ones to know about the Messiah they are waiting for.

And if they aren't Trinitarian, they aren't Christian. Though, they may want the name to boost their repute. (Is that the word I want?)

And though there were heretics, they were fringe groups and the vast majority of Christians has always believed in a Triune God.

Because Mohammed says it, that makes it true? Well, then because I say all this, it must be true! Your going to accept one man's words over anothers? Unless you believe Mohammed to be a prophet, you have nothing to stand on.

As an atheist how do you know more about what Christ stood for than half the Christians in your country?

Besides, they're more like neo-Pharisees. ;)

A) Who ever said I'm an atheist? I'm not.

B) I had a Christian education as a child. I spent my childhood in England and Ireland. My scorn for organized religion is based on knowledge, not ignorance.

C) I was only trying to be punchy by keeping it down to Pharoh and Sadducees. Yes, there's a big Pharisees element there too. Baisicly, everything Christ stood against, the modern US religous conservative movement supports. War, intolerance, union of church and state, the death penalty, anti-taxes, anti-charity (except those that they themselves deign to create). The only thing pro-Christ about the religious right is their rhetoric. But it's as ironic as yelling "stop cursing you dumb motherfucker!"

As L7 put it, "they're neither moral nor majority."

No, Jews do not see Abraham as the final prophet, or they wouldn't have all the other ones to know about the Messiah they are waiting for.

And if they aren't Trinitarian, they aren't Christian. Though, they may want the name to boost their repute. (Is that the word I want?)

And though there were heretics, they were fringe groups and the vast majority of Christians has always believed in a Triune God.

Because Mohammed says it, that makes it true? Well, then because I say all this, it must be true! Your going to accept one man's words over anothers? Unless you believe Mohammed to be a prophet, you have nothing to stand on.

But you think that the Bible is true just because it claims to be. So how is that any different from thinking that the Koran is true because it claims to be.

If you care to provide an answer, please do so in the form of non-circular logic (i.e. it's different to think that the Bible is inerrent because it actually is).

Plus, Christian simply means "follower of Christ." You can follow his teachings without believing him to be part of a triune god. Just as there is such a thing as a Jeffersonian, or a Freudian, named after the people whose philosophies and teachings they follow, the same would be true of a follower of the teachings of Jesus who happens to be an athiest, but thinks Jesus had some nifty things to say about being true to your beliefs in an atmosphere of authoritarian oppression and corruption.

But you think that the Bible is true just because it claims to be. So how is that any different from thinking that the Koran is true because it claims to be.

If you care to provide an answer, please do so in the form of non-circular logic (i.e. it's different to think that the Bible is inerrent because it actually is).

Plus, Christian simply means "follower of Christ." You can follow his teachings without believing him to be part of a triune god. Just as there is such a thing as a Jeffersonian, or a Freudian, named after the people whose philosophies and teachings they follow, the same would be true of a follower of the teachings of Jesus who happens to be an athiest, but thinks Jesus had some nifty things to say about being true to your beliefs in an atmosphere of authoritarian oppression and corruption.

I know by faith. Just as you know by faith that I am wrong.

Christian does mean "follower of Christ" however it has evolved to mean "follower of Christ as presented by the Bible" And the Bible teaches that He was a Person of a Triune God.

And I'm finished with this debate. There's a thread on the Trinity if you want to continue, or you can TG me.

I know by faith. Just as you know by faith that I am wrong.

Christian does mean "follower of Christ" however it has evolved to mean "follower of Christ as presented by the Bible" And the Bible teaches that He was a Person of a Triune God.

And I'm finished with this debate. There's a thread on the Trinity if you want to continue, or you can TG me.

But there are several denominations that disagree on what that is.

Once my little brother, who started attending "youth meetings" with his born-again friend tried to tell me that Catholics and Christians are distinct.

To claim that if you don't believe in the triune then you're not a Christian is the same as the Wahabists claiming that other Muslims aren't Muslims, or the Shia claiming that the Sunni aren't Muslims.

It's your club attempting to reserve the rights of membership for those who see things their way.

This is why I have to give a thumbs up to the Bhuddists. At least their sect that believes in only one path to enlightenment gets ridiculed as "the one-pathers." In Christianity you have a plethora of One Pathers who all insist that theirs is the only road going anywhere good.

No, Jews do not see Abraham as the final prophet, or they wouldn't have all the other ones to know about the Messiah they are waiting for.

And if they aren't Trinitarian, they aren't Christian. Though, they may want the name to boost their repute. (Is that the word I want?)

And though there were heretics, they were fringe groups and the vast majority of Christians has always believed in a Triune God.

Because Mohammed says it, that makes it true? Well, then because I say all this, it must be true! Your going to accept one man's words over anothers? Unless you believe Mohammed to be a prophet, you have nothing to stand on.

Let me clarify: Judaisim recognizes Abraham as the last prophet who has come to earth (whether or not they will recognize more remains to be seen and is irrelevant to my argument)

Are you telling me that Jehovas Witnesses, Mormons, and Christian Scientists aren't Christian just because they don't believe in the Trinity as *you* are touting it?

You are creating a double standard here. You say you believe what Jesus said, but somehow Mohammed is just some nobody off the street who should not be listened to? I think that if you give one prophet the benefit of the doubt, then you ought to give the other prophet the benefit of the doubt.

I am going to ask again, please provide evidence for the claims you make, please don't just give me your own statements without some sort of evidence. It makes rational argument very difficult.

God is Triune.

Yahweh and Allah are not. Therefore, they have different concepts of God. Though, the words may translate to the same thing, they are not the same concepts, so different Gods are being worshipped.

I think you need to do a study of the concept of the trinity. The trinity doesn't say there are three Gods, it recognizes three aspects of the one God.

I don't know of a Christian denomination that doesn't recognize YHWH as the same as the Christian God. And Islam also recognizes this same God. There is contention between some Muslims and Christians because they (as you) think Christians are worshiping 3 Gods, and their basic belief is---God is one.

They all don't exist, so the name is somewhat irrelevant. However, in conversation, I usually use phrases like, the Mormon God, the Lutheran God or the Sunday Baptist God. I find that trivializing the concept makes for the most offensive fun.

Let me clarify: Judaisim recognizes Abraham as the last prophet who has come to earth (whether or not they will recognize more remains to be seen and is irrelevant to my argument)

Moses? Isaiah? Elijah? Samuel? Nathan? Jonah? Jeremiah? Micah?

There are lots more.

Very true, they might. I wouldn't, but another atheist might. I wish you joy in your belief, I just can't join you in it.

And yes, hating people is ultimately counterproductive, though it apparently does make the hater feel better or at least justified, in the short term.

i am spiritual...but i am so completely disgusted with religion...hope that answers your question.

In the same manner as the Book of Mormon rewrote history using the names of previously known entities (such as Jesus from the NT), the Qur'an did the same thing with previously known entities as well.

Just because the newest book attempts to rewrite history, to it's own benefit of course, does not mean that the people living previous to the book in question (the forefathers of Mohammed and the forefathers at Mecca, for this example) actually followed the belief of the Hebrews or of the Christians.

It is a matter of some dispute about origins, but even so, there was an Allah worshiped before the Qur'an was written in Arabia and that Allah never claimed allegiance to the Hebrew and Christian God. He was a Moon God, and I for one think that the crescent moon (among other things) is a left over remnant of those days.

If there was a relevance to the Hebrew God or the Christian God in Mecca BEFORE Mohammed, it would not have been named Allah by any missionaries that went there... How then would the God be transcribed as Allah unless the Qur’an attempted to appropriate the unlettered followers of the NT and even Hebrews wherever possible as he expanded the lands of Islam into those directions. The God of the NT and the God of the Islam are not the same entity, neither passes the test of faith for the other in their opposing scripture books.

The Abrahamic religions all stem from one source. My facts are slightly shaky on this because I do not remember certain names. However, the rest I take to be fact.

I think it was Abraham's brother (Was it Lot?) who founded the race of people who eventually became the Islamic nation. Therefore, they believe in the same god as the decendents of the nation founded by Abraham, i.e. those who follow Judaism. Christianity is also founded upon Judaism as their "saviour", the supposed son of god, was Jewish.

They're the same god. But those who are extremely religious choose to not recognise that for the fact that they consider their religion to be true, and all others to be evil, their followers doomed to burn in hell or whatever.

And just while we're on the topic... I personally think that the Jehovah's Witnesses are closer to true Christianity in terms of the Bible and in terms of historical texts from that time than any other sect.

Christianity as most know it is just a warped collection of classic Pagan myths. Easter is the spring festival Ostara. Christmas takes place at the completely wrong time of year to coincide with Yule, the time when, according to certain Pagan beliefs, the God was reborn from the Goddess.

Meh. Religion. Fascinating. But my head hurts now. :p

The Abrahamic religions all stem from one source. My facts are slightly shaky on this because I do not remember certain names. However, the rest I take to be fact.

I think it was Abraham's brother (Was it Lot?) who founded the race of people who eventually became the Islamic nation. Therefore, they believe in the same god as the decendents of the nation founded by Abraham, i.e. those who follow Judaism. Christianity is also founded upon Judaism as their "saviour", the supposed son of god, was Jewish.

They're the same god. But those who are extremely religious choose to not recognise that for the fact that they consider their religion to be true, and all others to be evil, their followers doomed to burn in hell or whatever.

And just while we're on the topic... I personally think that the Jehovah's Witnesses are closer to true Christianity in terms of the Bible and in terms of historical texts from that time than any other sect.

Christianity as most know it is just a warped collection of classic Pagan myths. Easter is the spring festival Ostara. Christmas takes place at the completely wrong time of year to coincide with Yule, the time when, according to certain Pagan beliefs, the God was reborn from the Goddess.

Meh. Religion. Fascinating. But my head hurts now. :pI believe it was the sons of Abraham that actually split things off...

Which means we can trace all this bullshit to one person, Abraham. He was probably joking and just telling stories around the campfire and things got out of hand...

Some people just need something to believe in.

I believe it was the sons of Abraham that actually split things off...

Which means we can trace all this bullshit to one person, Abraham. He was probably joking and just telling stories around the campfire and things got out of hand...

Some people just need something to believe in.

Abraham was a follower of the Mesopotamian and Canaanite El and Baal/Marduk, just as was Melchizedek.

All the stuff that the Bible claims for Abraham is fabricated, especially including his faith. Just as with all other biblical figures prior to the Exile.
The Bible is an attempt to project the Jewish religion into the past, as if earlier folks had the same beliefs as they had when they wrote the Bible. But that's just a lie. The beliefs and religion of the Israelites was in fact very close to what everyone else believed throughout the Middle East.

First off, God is what Christians call God so they're not calling him by name. The original prohibition on "taking the Lord's name in vain." And Christians have historically had all sorts of euphamisms for Yahweh. "The Lord." "Our Father." "The Heavenly Father." etc.

And Baal is not a substitution. It's the name of another god entirely.

Baal is a title, not a name, and it was used for a variety of deities but mainly for Marduk, son of Yah. Baal also only means "lord", as in Baal-berit where it was used for the biblical god.

In the Bible god says his name is "envy".
.

a) you incorrectly believe there is an easter bunny and you get nothing. What have you lost?
b) you correctly don't believe there's an easter bunny and you get nothing.
c) you incorrectly believe there is no easter bunny and you get stiffed.
d) you correctly believe in the easter bunny and get candy.

I call it Cadbury's wager.

I'm not after candy.

The easter bunny does not exist and this fact does not depend on anyone's belief.
Belief is a fundamentally flawed concept. When you say that you "believe in XYZ" you only say something about yourself but not about XYZ. Belief is independent from reality and thus completely unsuitable for accurately describing reality

Gaius Aemilius Lentulus and Titius Flavius Varo were walking through the streets of Mediolanum in Anno MMXI ab Urbe condita. They were attracted by the clamour of some people shouting about the one true god, the coming, death of resurrection of his half-human son - just like Mitra.

-Quaeso, Gaie, what for Augustus' sake are telling those madmen? Just *one* god? - asked Titius.
-Scio, amice - said Gaius. - They're monotheists. Just one step before atheism.-

Gaius Aemilius Lentulus and Titius Flavius Varo were walking through the streets of Mediolanum in Anno MMXI ab Urbe condita. They were attracted by the clamour of some people shouting about the one true god, the coming, death of resurrection of his half-human son - just like Mitra.

-Quaeso, Gaie, what for Augustus' sake are telling those madmen? Just *one* god? - asked Titius.
-Scio, amice - said Gaius. - They're monotheists. Just one step before atheism.-

:D

...or one step beyond sanity ;)

First off, God is what Christians call God so they're not calling him by name. The original prohibition on "taking the Lord's name in vain." And Christians have historically had all sorts of euphamisms for Yahweh. "The Lord." "Our Father." "The Heavenly Father." etc.

And Baal is not a substitution. It's the name of another god entirely.

Technically, "Baal" could be a substitution. After all, "Baal" is Phoenician for "Lord". Hence "Baal Zebul", the Lord of the Flies, the patron god of Carthage, whose symbol was the fly.

The easter bunny does not exist and this fact does not depend on anyone's belief.


Prove it.

(Reminds me of a time in high school where a bonus question was to demonstrate how Santa Claus could or could not exist. Everyone went the route of Santa Claus not existing. I, having finished my test before everyone else, got bored and wrote a page long essay on how Santa Claus could exist, assuming he was made out of tachyons.)