For example, Saint Paul acknowledges that the faithful believe in one God, but he acknowledges there are many gods and many Lords in the heavens and on earth (1Co 8:5). Since Saint Paul knows of at least three heavens (2 Co 12:2), we should not be surprised at his statement concerning many gods.
If we inquire of Saint Paul as to why people find the gospel inscrutable, he would respond that it is hid to them that are lost (2 Co 4:3). As a follow up question, we would ask “Why are these people unable to come to the truth of the gospel?”; Saint Paul would respond that the god of this world (or Age or Cosmos) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. (2Co 4:4)
Clearly, for Saint Paul the god of this world is not the one God of the faithful. Therefore, we have evidence for multiple heavens and at least two Gods in the Epistles. We need to inquire of his epistles for evidence of references to other gods. We answer in the affirmative.
Rom 15:5 ..the God of patience and consolation… Rom 15:13 ...the God of hope… Rom 15:33 ...the God of peace… 2 Co 4:4...the god of this world… 2 Co 13:11 ...the God of love and peace… |
Because Saint Paul acknowledges other gods, we should not be surprised that he writes about their attributes. We know that one aspect of the god of this world is that he blinds the minds of those who do not believe. Although this seems to be a small sphere of influence, it must be higher importance than we can image, as judging by the tens of thousands of Christian denominations that represent hundreds of millions of people who can not even agree upon any basic tenets of the faith.