Your 'divinely inspired' Bible professes to believe that there are other Gods.
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Jeremiah 51:44
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
Isaiah 46:1
> For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earthβas there are many βgodsβ and many βlordsββyet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.
β 1 Corinthians 8:5β6
The idea that God/Yahweh/Elohim had a "Divine Council" made up of His sons, who could also be called "angels" or "gods", and who ruled all of the other nations of the world outside of ancient Israel seems to gaining popularity. I haven't made up my mind on it, though it seems to have some scriptural support.
That's a bit of a retcon.
In any case, even if you can take the Old Testament's clear acknowledgement that Yaweh is just one god among many, there remains the question of why you should believe any of this in the first place.
You weren't there, so ultimately you are relying on a book and a tradition - but there are other books and other traditions. What makes you so sure you found the true one?
Jesus Christ is my connection. Because I have believed in and obey the gospel message concerning Him that has been passed on by the Church and in the Bible for nearly two millennia, I have experienced a personal connection with Him. I believe that God raised Jesus bodily from death and that He was seen by eyewitnesses who have passed the story on and had their lives radically changed as a result. I accept the Old Testament and Yahweh because Jesus did, and said that Yahweh God is His Father. Indeed, the circumstances surrounding Jesus, as well as the Bible itself, indicates that Jesus is the only true God, Yahweh, Who came to Earth as a human.
When you place your faith in Him, according to the Scripture God's spirit indwells you and confirms to your spirit that you are a child of God. Some call it an "inner witness." Then, as you "walk" with God, living your everyday life and talking to Him regularly (prayer) and obeying Him, seeking to do what pleases Him, you receive guidance and blessings, comfort, peace in difficult situations, miracles in some cases, interesting "coincidences" which seem can only be providential (i.e., orchestrated by God), healing, provision, etc. Experiences like this can affirm and bolster your confidence that you have in God. I think the closer and longer you "walk" with God, the stronger it all becomes.
I'll be honest, I sometimes wonder if people in other faith traditions or even atheists and agnostics experience similar? I've never been anything other than a Christian from a young age. I wonder how my life would be different? I guess I could only found out by abandoning my faith. Apparently, a guy named Charles Templeton who used to minister with Billy Graham early on as a Christian abandoned his faith, and even as an old man admitted that he missed Jesus, which is strange for someone who claimed to be an atheist to say.
I have also had profound experiences, but nothing has shown the source of those profound experiences was an undead Jewish carpenter
What do you attribute them to, coincidence?
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.
