When coming on the Hebrew common noun אֱלֹהִים elohim, the Tanners, responding to the claim it is a plural in the Bible, states that
This criticism is not confined to
Mormon scholars. William McCarthy, a critic of the Bible, made this statement:
The first verse of the bible is
an example: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The
earliest text was: “In the beginning Elohim created . . .” Had these compilers
been honest, they would have said: “In the beginning the gods created . . .” .
. . The bible’s compilers lied more than twenty-five hundred times by changing
the plural, Elohim, gods, into the singular “god.” (Bible, Church and God,
by William McCarthy, Truth Seeker Co., New York, N.Y., 1946, p. 174) (Jerald
Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? [5th
ed.; Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987, 2008], 168)
While not a full-fledged quote mine, the Tanners do not
share some important details in the above quote. Here are the relevant quotes
from the McCarthy book:
Yet, these compilers were
wise enough to escape some absurdities, though they had to lie to do it. The
first verse of the bible is an example: “In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth.” The earliest text was: “In the beginning Elohim created
. . .” Had these compilers been honest, they would have said: “In the beginning
the gods created . . .” But a liar, like a thief, always leaves a gate open.
Had the lying compilers closed all gates there would be no: Let “US” make man
in “OUR” image, after “OUR” likeness; 1:26; or “Behold the man has become as
one of US”; 3:22; or “Let US go down” etc., 11:7. The bible’s compilers lied
more than twenty-five hundred times by changing the plural Elohim, gods, into
the singular “god”. They possibly thought this was enough lying for the
“glorification of god”, and didn’t follow up the changes in the pronouns.
(William McCarthy, Bible, Church and God [New York: Truth Seeker Co.,
Inc., 1946], 174, emphasis in original)
Feeling safe, the Lord
told Moses to hasten down, get Aaron and hurry back, closing his order with: “I
am the Lord thy God which have brought thee . . . out of the land of bondage,”
and “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” 20:3. What other gods? Was
this Christian Jewish god one of many? The bible so states. Elohim means many
gods, and god was once called Elohim. The Bible often has god speak of
himself as “us” e.g. Gen. 11:7. “Thou shalt not revile the gods” 22:28. To
which tribe of gods does the Christian Jewish god belong?
The bible carries the
multiplicity of gods further, 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them (gods) for I am the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me.” Hate me! Religious revenge, or the disposition of a mad
dog? Still the priest cries: “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” “Return good for
evil.” Further, “A jealous God?” Jealous of whom? A supreme god could only be
jealous of his equal, and if he had an equal he would not be supreme. If
all-knowing and all-power, why not remove the jealous cause? But should an
innocent child suffer for the sins of its great, great grand-father? God said
so. And “god is just.” Yes? (Ibid., 229-30)
