How many gods are too many?

1. 61

   mishpatposted 9 years ago

   Of course my atheists friends will probably quickly respond with "1" as is their right. 
   
   But my question is based on a recent posting to which I responded.  It seems there are thousands of gods in some religions or beliefs.  My response to a specific posting was which one of your gods says "the buck stop here" meaning which one is the chief god? Who sets the "morality and all that goes with being in charge?"  Can he or she be deposed?  If so, where is the security in this type of religion or belief?  Wouldn't the rules change as quickly as a politician or child changes his mind?
   
   The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is unchanging and dependable.  For the unbeliever, you may add "is said to be."  Whether one accepts this or not is not the point.  The point is at least the one knows who he or she can "blame" when things don't go as is wanted, believer or not!
   
   Just interested in opinions.  And be nice.

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      Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Why don't all the other millions of Gods fight it all out in the cosmos first?
      
      The number one winner who takes All Gods on and wins all, is the true God. That would stop all the hating from all the other Gods and their people slaves. I would be so impressed I would join that one God OR at lease know I really would be going to hell.

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   2. 59

      kessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Logics dictates that there can only be one God .

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      1. 76

         Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Logical? How would math be presented biblically? What does God have to do with math?
         
         Most of us view math as a neutral subject. Neutral means indifferent or “not engaged on either side; not aligned with a political or ideological grouping.”[1] We regard math as a subject “not engaged” and “not aligned” with either biblical or worldly thinking. Believing that math is independent from God, we approach math as a “safe” subject—a subject we can all see the same way, regardless of our religious beliefs. After all, the equation one plus one equals two (“1 + 1 = 2”) works the same way for a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or atheist. Math is a subject of numbers and facts, and most of us think facts are neutral.
         
         If one God wants the highest number one spot, prove it.Kill all other Gods rather than us killing each other over these Gods. No ethics or logic needs to apply because he is God, the all mighty

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         1. 59

            kessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You are too busy talking......

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            1. 60

               Paul Wingertposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Of all the 4,000 gods being worshiped today, yours is real while all the others are made up rubbish!

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               1. 0

                  jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  7 billion designer-gods, not one of them authentic, real or palpable.   All in the Mind of Man.   Here today, gone tomorrow.   Worshiped today, argued about, fought over, thrust in the face of those who are reluctant to believe, causing untold worry and consternation. 
                  
                  ....And yet ultimately dissipated into the limitless, infinite reaches of the universe.  Of no more significance than the air escaping from a laundry wash bubble.
                  
                  Meanwhile we miss the beauty and wonder that can lift our minds above such trivia..... and give other life forms a chance to survive, even if we don't have a care to.

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   3. 95

      wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Which earthly leader, president, king or whatever is at the top?  Which one says "The buck stops here" for all people on earth?
      
      Why does there have to be only one god at the top?  Why not a hundred or a billion, just as on earth?

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      1. 76

         Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I like the idea of 100 billion gods. That would allow us to respect each other on the same level rather than fighting over
         my God is better than
         your God.

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   4. 0

      jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for this question CP.   Since each person will have a different imagination in their mind as to what their "god" is like, then there are literally billions of gods. 
      
      Just enough if you allow for the individual's right to "believe.

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      1. 76

         Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Satan could be replace by nature because always sh_t happens.

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   5. 84

      Don Wposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Translation: "my god is better than your god(s)".

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   6. 84

      Don Wposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      And the idea of there being a god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit, where god the father is also god the son, who is also god the holy spirit. But god the father is not god the son, and god the son is not god the holy spirit who is not god the father. And god the son is begotten of god the father and is of one being with the father. And god the son was also human, and was born, but was truly fully human, but was also truly fully god at the same time. And god the holy spirit who proceeds from god the father and god the son, but is distinct from god the father and god the son, but is also fully god, just like god the father and god the son are fully god, but also distinctly god the father, and god the son, makes complete sense.
      
      I don't think Abraham would recognise this god.

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      1. 61

         mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         oh snap, that's cute .. . and that takes me back a few years ... to when I first read this ... but not every one can be original ..

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         1. 84

            Don Wposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            The truth of a statement is not determined by how original it is.
            
            You believe in elements of Christianity that are logically impossible, but imply that aspects of other religions are somehow less credible. You take your belief (I assume) as being the result of divine revelation, I take it as being the result of cognitive bias.

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   7. 85

      oceansnsunsetsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Based on my study, and with no offense to anyone, and since it was asked, I would say two gods are too many.  You touch on some of the inherent problems with there being more than one.  If nothing else, its seems logically impossible.  Of course, this depends on your definition of god also.  Perhaps that is where some of the differences of opinions come into play.
      
      Based on the idea of an all powerful, all knowing, eternal past and into the future god, I think there can only be one.  I shared once on hubpages this basic idea, and was told, "congratulations, you just put down millions of people's beliefs!"  Sigh....  The last thing I want to ever do is put people down.  Anyway, the question was asked here.  Also, I very much respect people and their right to think what they want, and to be able to live alongside them peacefully.  So, all that, is the way I see it, and I could be wrong, and like to discuss the why's of that sometimes.

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   8. 71

      Jomine Joseposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Atheists will respond with "0" as the right.
      Jews with 1
      Islam with 1 main and some lesser deitys depending on the version.
      Christians with 3 main and many lesser deitys.
      Hindus with 1, 3, 3000 or 33 crore depending on the sect/translation.
      Buddhist, the jury still out there.

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      1. 61

         mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hello Jomi.  Been a while.  Just a little misunderstanding I think.  You say "0" as the right, which is the same as my saying "1" is too many, as I put in the OP.  Do we agree?
         
         Did very little study on Hinduism.  If you know, could you tell me the number of "sects" and what "translation" has to do with things?

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         1. 71

            Jomine Joseposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yes we agree. I was talking about what each religion would say.
            
            
            Sect is not like the Christian sect. Hinduism though claimed to be a single religion is not.  It is the myriad of religions followed by those east of the indus from ancient times. Only now after the advent of mass media and propaganda, it got some uniformity. Each caste/sub caste got a separate god and rituals. There were the Vaishanavities and shaivities who said vishnu and shiva as the supreme gods respectively. There were those who said , especially south indians, "devi"(goddess) as the supreme.  Some others claimed that "Dharma" is supreme and the trinity is his manifestation. Some others said "I" am god and the Nastika sect claimed that there are no gods. While a good majority believes in the existence of a thousand gods, "33 crore" is the figure generally used, but the number no one know for sure.
            Translation: for example the same book "gita" is used by different translaters to expound advaita or dvaita (God is one or separate). There is not one but more than 200 sanskrit (the language in which ancient Hindu books are written) books.

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            1. 61

               mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for the info and time you put into this.  Quite informative.

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2. 61

   mishpatposted 9 years ago

   What I see so far is that those folks that do not believe God exists have taken a position that He is irrelevant.  As I said, you are allowed your position.
   
   My question is actually more toward those that accept the existence of more than one god.  Does your belief include a living eternity? An existence after physical death?   On what or which god would you hang your hope in this area?  What is his or her promised outcome/afterlife?
   
   As an example, I believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnate God of the Old Testament.  (Take it as a testimony if you wish.  We can debate "trinity" and such at another time.)  He does not change.  He does not fail.  He does not get caught by surprise.  He is not the least swayed by public opinion.  He is not fickle. I don't have to consider which of the many in the pantheons of gods to talk to about specific issues, i.e. weather, sickness, money, etc.  He is always there, never to busy.  And He answers every prayer, though not always as I would like.  He is sufficient, in the greatest sense.
   
   And He is all powerful which brings us back to the original OP.  Why so many gods?  And let me add, isn't it confusing?

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   1. 76

      Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      How can you understand God or Gods better if you don't go out into the Cosmos to explore ideas rather than narrow way of thinking to over obedience and heresy?

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      1. 61

         mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Narrow.  Is it narrow to see that Earth is the only planet in all of the cosmos able to sustain life. 
         
         Cosmos.  I speak of cosmos as the areas of limitless space of which we have direct knowledge and information, not supposition and theory.
         
         Life.  I speak of life as we know it.  But since there is no other life known to man, I speak of life on the planet so designed that intelligent man cannot explain it or sustain.

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         1. 76

            Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Can you put up with all these other Gods, can you sustain endless battles with these Gods. Glad it's not my cosmic problem to sort out. Is a :NEW WORLD ORDER: and "ONE WORLD RELIGION" needed, Hitler thought so.

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      2. 0

         jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         As I see it, the psychological need, on the part of the "believer," is a need of certainty, stability, a safety net.
         
         That "God" is the anchor for our fickle and uncertain walk in life.  This is not an unreasonable need.... if we can fulfill it, that serves a very useful purpose.   But I say it's a false premise to believe that "God," the Anchor, lies outside of our self, somewhere almost beyond our reach, where "God" looks down upon us with a judgmental and disciplining threat.   
         
         If we use the analogy of the wheel, imagining that it consists of a rim spinning around and governing the center, that is only one way of looking at it.   The opposite understanding of the wheel is a center point, rock steady,  immoveable, observing the ever-changing position of the rim and connecting the entire wheel together.
         
         So, we have a choice.   Either we get involved with the helter-skelter of life out there on wheel, scared that we are going to fall off and hurt our self;   or we step back gently and quietly onto the center hub. . 
         
         From the center of our Being we can observe the cares and worries of the world being acted out by those who are thoroughly engrossed and controlled by it.   Then there is the option to occasionally step from the center, back out onto the wheel and join the frantic throng (try saying those two words repetitively ) and learn some more of what life has to teach by way of experience.
         
         "I" can spend most of my time on the rim.... or most of my time at the center.   My choice, always.
         
         Just offering another way of viewing things, that's all.

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            Castlepalomaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I like to stay closer to the middle, don't want to spin out too far into outer space or get sucked in.

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3. 61

   mishpatposted 9 years ago

   Never ceases to amaze me how the ardent unbelievers will bypass the subject matter in order to put in their two cents worth of relevance.  Here we have a question.  But some have taken it to be a soap box to ridicule, and that from a position of ignorance.
   
   It is apparent in these responses that most would like to believe but will not as it would mean giving up what they hold dearest in life, their self-importance.  Yet, in their ignorance, they do no realize their  responses are but one more proof of God, Romans 1:21-22.
   
   The subject matter is "How many gods are too many" not "Here's my position on God."  It's really not that hard to understand. 
   
   "How ."  "many ."   "gods . " "are . "  "too . "  "many . "
   
   Just connect the dots.  You may use your color chalk, your crayons or finger paints and you can eve have your mommy help you.

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   1. 0

      jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ok, here's another possible answer:   
      
      Premise:    One God per person is sufficient.  "Gawd 'elp us if any more come along!"
      
      Therefore,   if God = Infinity =  X      then  X  > 1  =  the limit of awareness
      
      

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4. 72

   jacharlessposted 9 years ago

   From studying theological philosophies, from both the sensational and scientific perspectives, can say with full confidence: "Every variation of Theos, be it quantum mechanics or Hinduism,  all have a singular entity at the center or core of its application. But, as we note with Hinduism, there are a collective of nearly two-million demi-entities or demi-gods. The same can be said of Christianity, with the theory of angels and demons -which mirrors Hinduism in many respects. The only theology having just one deity, who set the stage for all to believe in only one deity, is the twin brothers: Judeo-Islamic. Remember, also, they were born out of Paganism, yet another multi-deity doctrine. Today, theologies, such as medicine or cancer research, carry the same properties. Why? The answer is quite simple: Reason. There can be a demi-deity for every stand of thought, as each, in and of itself, is a thread of a singular deity. You could dumb-it-down and say each thought is a thread of God and, in the case of human reason, each is a god...
   Now consider another approach. A simple view of a HEX-11 swatch. The number of colors that can be represented by this system is 256 to the 3rd power = 16,777,216 colors of sRGB. The human mind can not only read them, but process, store, reflect and visualize every single one -individually or in demi-systems- in "the blink of an eye". If the mere colour range of this particular swatch method is any indication of the volume of probabilities of deities within the parameters of Reason..."
   
   Cheers,
   James

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   1. 0

      jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Standing Ovation!!!!!
      
      

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      1. 72

         jacharlessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Jonny. A humble bow with a wink.

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   2. 61

      mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Your comment about Judeo-Islamic "brothers" is exceptionally flawed.  Whether one believes in the Biblical God of Creation is a choice and is not the product of paganism.  And these two "brothers" are not brothers in theology, but brothers in the flesh, nor are they twins, that is if you are speaking of Isaac and Ismael.
      
      The bare basics are 1) no "religious" title, just a knowledge and belief in God to 2) Judaism which was fulfilled in 3) Christianity.  All others are spin offs to satisfy the wants of the unbelieving man through the ages.

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         jonnycomelatelyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         ...and, mishpat, all arguments you are putting forward seem to be spin offs to satisfy the wants of the believing christian man through the ages.
         
         So - are we on the level?   Is one person's argument more credible than the other?   Are you looking for any argument to be resolved without bias, or must it be resolved along your christian lines?

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      2. 72

         jacharlessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Sadly, you are exceptionally mish-informed.
         Judaism and Islam are rooted in the same theology. In fact they are so similar it is somewhat eerie. Yes, both "brothers" came from the same root - Abram. Both therefore carry the same seed of Theos. Albeit, over time, their perspectives and expressions within their version of theology changed, as -I suppose- all theologies change. Case in point, the modern version of the scientific approach to Theos. Many aspects have changed. Nonetheless, their root remains the same.
         
         As for Judaism being "fulfilled in Christianity", your remark is again exceptionally flawed. Judaism was not, nor can it be fulfilled, by another theology, else it would have been fully absorbed by Christianity and seize to exist as an independent theology. Alas, it remains today. The reason? Yes, Reason is the reason it exists. And, yes, I know what "you mean" but it is not the same. The man did the work, to "fulfill", however the collective have utterly, unequivocally, undeniably, absolutely, quite arrogantly, indisputably and most pitifully failed him, in every probable sense of the work. And, the crutch/ theological "but he is forgiving and merciful" is irrelevant. It is a fact, Reason has further disavowed and dissimulated even the most believing.
         
         Christianity is greatly awash in ancient Paganism, blended with various influences. Not to say the underlying doctrine is flawed, rather the [many] applications. But, like all Theos, it falls short of the mark -be it the mark of Cain or X which marks the spot where they dig up the bones of those before them. The temples may look different, but they are the same. Call one a museum, call another an operating table, call the third an alter. There is no difference. They are all of the same god -the human mind/ego {ha-satan, adversary, stumbling block, enemy} - divided within itself.
         
         All Theos is unbelief, hence why it is flawed and needs endless proving/disproving, testing and edification, nevermind the minimal or massivity of its deities. The origin of Necessity is where the collective fails to see the "forest for the trees". The Inception, and its effective amnesia, has given rise to countless Logical and Sensational deities. One built upon another. A system of endless threads within a single deity: the ac "Knowledge" ment of the threads themselves.

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         1. 61

            mishpatposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You have 4 paragraphs.  Disagree x4.  Your lack of knowledge on the subject seems flawed by material and humanist attitudes or studies.  Your opinion is always welcome.  However, and again, as is the matter in most forums, folks use the moment to espouse positions only closely aligned with the OP. Thanks for the input.

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5. 60

   therighttowriteposted 9 years ago

   "I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” -Stephen F. Roberts
   
   Stephen Roberts states that the question of belief bears no purpose, since it is not qualitative, and that it is rather emotional.
   
   
   No amount of god is too much, just like no amount is too few. When you believe in a creator, does it really matter whether it is singular or it is every single atom in the universe? Putting logic into an ideal being is akin to looking for logic in the existence of unicorns; it is the most irrational way to approach the subject. Theology is not based on "logic". It is purely based on faith and belief. Just my 2 cents.

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      jacharlessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely stated, for just two cents.
      The only element I would argue is your perspective regarding logic being absent of theology. Why? Because the term literally means: Of All Knowing, which is often dumbed-down to define G/god [The All Knowing]. At least every philosopher I had the pleasure of studying agrees with the literal term. Theos is logical and sensational. Knowledge by information and knowledge by expression/feeling. One cannot truly exist without the other.Theos is the sum-substance of Reason, both methods of application (scientific and sensational). "Faith", in most cases, is simply the lack of exploration and testing using either approach. On the flip side, faith is often the diving into unknown knowledge without pretext aka blind faith. Although, myself, have an entirely different definition of faith that is neither scientific nor sensational...

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