Thanks again Graham. To clarify one point you raised earlier as well, which I tried to make clear in my introduction. I am not arguing in this series for the truth of the beliefs. I have done that frequently in my other posts. I said in the intro there are two reasons to believe: 1) because it is true and 2) because it works. Most Christians are mostly type 2 and are not terribly interested in the type 1 question. As I am mostly type 1, this effort to say what I think is "better" is a bit new to me. By better I mean better for me in terms of what I think, how I think, how I conceive the world and the actions and behaviors that derive from that. Regarding the translation of Elohim, I totally agree. It is a word used both as a plural and singular. Sort of like our use of "data" I suppose even though the plural and singluar are related to incorrect usage. It's very clear in the Genesis account that the God referred to is not a singular as we tend to talk of it, even in the very beginning it separates out Spirit from God yet treats them the same. Later God says "let us make man in our own image" which always raises the question of who this us is. Traditional theology has this as a sort of indication or confirmation of the Trinity and that may be, but a book I am reading right now called The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser opens this door much wider. I think you might enjoy that book. Traditional theology has ignored much of the content of the Bible that suggests other deities and created entities that are not human and we would consider spirits or gods, yet they are given great power and influence within creation. Looking forward to more of your thoughts as I delve further in what I consider "better."