"FOR I AM GOD AND NOT MAN"


There are a couple of verses in the Old Testament which appear to
contradict the said above, such as Hosea ll. 9 and Isaiah 46:5,9,
However, as E. Lab. Cherbonnier brilliantly shows in his article "The
Logic of Biblical Anthropomorphism," the context proves otherwise.

"Logically, He (God of the Bible) has more in common with these
Olympian deities than with Plato's `Being' or Aristotle's `Unmoved
mover'. The difference between Yahweh and Zeus is not logical or
formal, but factual and `existential.' The prophets do not charge the
pagan deities with being anthropomorphic, but with being
insufficiently anthropomorphic. At their best, they are counterfeit
persons. At their worst, they are frankly impersonal.

"It is sometimes held that his biblical anthropomorphism is only a
manner of speaking, a more symbol for the hidden `wholly other' God
who defies all attempts to describe him. A few standard passages are
regularly adduced as evidence that the Bible `at it's best' abandons
anthropomorphism. Modern scholarship, however, by restoring these
passages to their context and so restoring their original meaning,
reverses such an interpretation. Hosea 11:9: `For I am God and not
man, the Holy One in your midst.' Here apparently, God is contrasted
with man; anthropomorphism is repudiated. The context however
establishes the contrary. Indeed, Hosea is one of the most daring
anthropomorphic authors of the Bible. He attributes to God Himself
the feelings and emotions of the husband whose wife has played the
harlot.' The contrast between God and man concerns their respective
ways of dealing with the situation. Instead of destroying Israel for
her faithfulness, as might be expected of man. God is not vindictive.
He has resources of mercy and forgiveness for the softening of Israel
heart. This difference between God and man is not a difference `in
principle.' It is merely `de facto'-a difference which God intends to
overcome." (26)

Isaiah 46:5,9 says

"To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare Me, that we
may be alike?…For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and
there is none like me.

Cherbonnier says of this verse:

"It contrasts the mighty acts of Yahweh with the impotence of every
false god: `They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it;…it
cannot move from its place,…it does not answer'(v 7). The true God,
however, does move and speak; he announces his purpose and brings it
to pass (v.11).

"The intent of such passages is to distinguish Yahweh from idols by
precisely these anthropomorphic activities: `They have mouths, but
don't speak; eyes, but don't see; they have ears, but do not hear;
nose, but do not smell'(Ps. 115:5,6). Pagan gods are contemptible
because of their impotence. They cannot even do the things man can
do, whereas Yahweh does these things par excellence.' (27)"





I am here with the truth. Take the words, turn them over and examine
them, put them on the scale of facts and weight them, and if I am not
teaching you the truth I say come up here and prove it and I will lay
down my head on the floor and let you chop it off. THE HONORABLE
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD-MESSAGE TO THE BLACKMAN CHP. 74














If you take one step towards Him, He runs 2 you!