If There is Only One God, Then How Do We Know There is Only One God?

[Smart_Guy]

Hmm. Maybe if your god took up football or basket ball, he may have a change of mind when it comes to team work? (Halfa pun intended)

If

 

[Unveiled Artist]

You make it sound as though you want there to be 'multiple gods' .. truth isn't about what we want or prefer..
However, if you've looked sincerely for truth, and found it to be 'multiple gods', then fine
..but doesn't it still boil down to the same thing? Who is reponsible for our existence? Who is behind evolution?
Is the answer 'multiple gods', and how do you know this?

I am an atheist. I dont believe in god/entity one or many. I know Spirits (souls of the deceased, environment, and kin) exist. There is no belief. There is no faith.

If I were to call the spirits gods, I cannot see how there can be only one. If your god is a protector, creator, passionate, etc as such are the spirits (minus them being creators), why would it not be logical to say more than of a good thing is great?

What about more than one god devalues one god?

It would also mirror the uniqueness of life if there were more than one creator. Each adding their own taste to creation. Cant see many people as a reflection of one.

 

[Smart_Guy]

At one time, the Roman Empire was ruled by a group of three co-equal emperors (the Triumvirate). At other times, it was ruled by four emperors: 2 senior and 2 junior.

And in many countries, the "ruler" is still accountable to some body like a congress or parliament. Here in Canada, the Prime Minister is in many respects just one member of a body with many members.

Humans

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Haha.

If

Think this will put a smile on your face. Just (edit..'pretend, I mean') Jesus is god. (Christians...not offensive but good humor)

Christ at the NBA

 

[Sonofason]

Christ is a man and has a spirit just as each of us do. Everyone has an individual spirit. The same as my ancestral spirits and my loved ones love and protect me is the same as Christ giving you love and so forth. Both are spirit.

Christ isn't god. He has the spirit of god in him and, because he does, everything he does is that of god. I don't understand how trinity believers see what they do because to me its so common sense. Maybe because its so personal its hard to make god an actual human.

However, I haven't mentioned Christ. I just don't understand how there can only be one god. We have so many different characteristics in life that if gods/entities exist, we would be a reflection of them not of one person.

Our spirit determines who we are. Our bodies are merely

And take your point one god further....

That certainly is a possibility, but I see it as pointless because I believe in God. Why should I consider that no God exists, when I believe that one does? How about you prove to me that there is no God. Prove to me that I have not experienced God, and then perhaps I might have reason to consider your statement as a viable alternative.

 

[CG Didymus]

Our spirit determines who we are. Our bodies are merely

That certainly is a possibility, but I see it as pointless because I believe in God. Why should I consider that no God exists, when I believe that one does? How about you prove to me that there is no God. Prove to me that I have not experienced God, and then perhaps I might have reason to consider your statement as a viable alternative.

Hey Sonfason, you have "following Christ" at the bottom of your posts. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit? If you do, then the God you experience is different than the God the Jews experience. And that God is different then the God experienced by people in other religions. So which God is the real God?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Our spirit determines who we are. Our bodies are merely

That certainly is a possibility, but I see it as pointless because I believe in God.

Why should I consider that no God exists, when I believe that one does? How about you prove to me that there is no God. Prove to me that I have not experienced God, and then perhaps I might have reason to consider your statement as a viable alternative.

The actual topic is one god versus more than one god. I am saying it makes more sense to believe in more than one god because 1, we have so many characteristics that are unique to us, why would it only reflect one person. 2, with more than one god, each god has a personal relationship with whomever. The relationship is not hierarchy but a family. It's team work. When you have more than one god you an see a reflection of that when we see our families, our classmates, etc. You can see things more from a community point of view rather than focused on self.

I believe spirits exist. I have no reason not to. Although your god and the spirits I know exist are two different entities, I have no reason to say your experiences are false and mine are true. That's a Abrahamic thing. No other religion I came across, even briefly, has that mindset.

Proving to you there is no god is like trying to prove to me there are not spirits. Not going to work. It's not about me, though. If it's your experience and you believe its real, who am I to say you are wrong. I can challenge the logic behind your belief but I'm not challenging your experiences.

In my post you quoted, I talked about god's spirit in Christ. The only thing I mentioned about god's existence is Christ isn't god. So, I don't know how this comment relates to the topic.

 

[McBell]

That certainly is a possibility, but I see it as pointless because I believe in God. Why should I consider that no God exists, when I believe that one does? How about you prove to me that there is no God. Prove to me that I have not experienced God, and then perhaps I might have reason to consider your statement as a viable alternative.

You misunderstand.
I am not interested in trying to reason you out of a position that reason was absent in gaining.

 

[Aupmanyav]

This sounds (to me) like you are saying that Hindus have been able to avoid violence and cruelty by having multiple deities (at least some of) who are happy/okay with not being worshipped - is that what you are saying?

Yeah, I may be worshiping Krishna instead of Shiva and Shiva will see no problem with that. He will have his own worshipers who will not be worshiping Krishna. Some, instead will be worshiping the Mother Goddess. None will disrespect the God/Goddess of others. That is the general pattern in Hinduism. I do not worship any but disrespect none.

 

[viole]

If there is only one god, then on what grounds, if any, can it be claimed there is only one god?

BONUS QUESTION: Are there any good arguments for the existence of multiple gods? If so, what are they?

If there is only one God, then there is only one God. Tautologically.

You cannot be more certain than that.

Ciao

- viole

 

[Quintessence]

If there is only one god, then on what grounds, if any, can it be claimed there is only one god?

I'd prefer not to speak for the monotheists. To me, this is pretty strange (see below).

BONUS QUESTION: Are there any good arguments for the existence of multiple gods? If so, what are they?

There are multiple things I deem worthy of worship in the universe - multiple things that I find valuable, inspiring and worth celebrating and praising. How do I know they are multiple things? Common sense observations. Humans experience the world is being composed of multiple things, as if we didn't we could hardly navigate our environment or survive. We understand that rain is not a river, that the river is not the banks that hold it, that the banks are not the bedrock beneath it, and so forth. We also understand that creativity is not the same thing as knowledge, that knowledge is not the same thing as anger, that anger is not the same thing as happiness. These sorts of things - the Spirit of Rain, Spirit of Creativity, and so forth - are the sorts of things I deify and celebrate. For me, having only one god (monotheism) is like saying you can only value and celebrate one thing in the entire universe. Calling that "pretty strange" as I did above is a gracious understatement... quite honestly I find it completely absurd.

 

[Sonofason]

Hey Sonfason, you have "following Christ" at the bottom of your posts. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit? If you do, then the God you experience is different than the God the Jews experience. And that God is different then the God experienced by people in other religions. So which God is the real God?

You are wrong.

We ought not fool ourselves into thinking that Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in a different God. It is surely the same God they believe in. The God that Abraham spoke of is indeed the same God that Muslims believe in. People have perceptions. Two different people can meet my acquaintance and come to two very different conclusions about me. It could be that one of them is wrong about me. It could be that both of them are right about me. Or it could be that both of them are wrong about me. External influences play a significant antecedent role in the development of our perceptions of those experiences we have, but we must keep in mind that perceptions are more consequentially constructs of the mind.

How does one perceive God? Is it by the perceptions of others? How can we reliably place honest and good faith in the existence of God based on the constructs of other people's minds? We can't. Their experiences can only serve as a comparison to the perceptions that we have.

If we are to have faith in God it must be because we have experienced Him in some significant way. even then our perceptions of Him are likely desperately flawed.

"For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians:1)

 

[Sonofason]

The actual topic is one god versus more than one god. I am saying it makes more sense to believe in more than one god because 1, we have so many characteristics that are unique to us, why would it only reflect one person. 2, with more than one god, each god has a personal relationship with whomever. The relationship is not hierarchy but a family. It's team work. When you have more than one god you an see a reflection of that when we see our families, our classmates, etc. You can see things more from a community point of view rather than focused on self.

I believe spirits exist. I have no reason not to. Although your god and the spirits I know exist are two different entities, I have no reason to say your experiences are false and mine are true. That's a Abrahamic thing. No other religion I came across, even briefly, has that mindset.

Proving to you there is no god is like trying to prove to me there are not spirits. Not going to work. It's not about me, though. If it's your experience and you believe its real, who am I to say you are wrong. I can challenge the logic behind your belief but I'm not challenging your experiences.

In my post you quoted, I talked about god's spirit in Christ. The only thing I mentioned about god's existence is Christ isn't god. So, I don't know how this comment relates to the topic.

Our characteristics are in no way a reflection of the characteristics of God. There is no deplorable characteristic of God. There is no sinful behavior with God. While it is true that we can reflect characteristics of God, I would not even begin to suggest as you have that all of the characteristics characterized by human beings are somehow a reflection of God. To me that is just wishful thinking.

Believe me, I would never try to convince you that spirits do not exist. I'm quite sure they do. As I have suggested in other comments on perhaps other threads, we may indeed experience God without having an accurate perception of that experience. We can experience God, and get it all wrong depending on our preconceived notions about God, and perhaps our state of mind when we undergo the experience. Yet, we can only believe what we believe. We have no other choice.

 

[Sonofason]

You misunderstand.
I am not interested in trying to reason you out of a position that reason was absent in gaining.

okay, fair enough.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Eh. I guess it's alright to think we could have different perceptions of the same god. I honestly think that's an abrahamic mindset. Nothing wrong with it, just inherently irritating. Below is a contradiction. Can you clarify?

Our characteristics are in no way a reflection of the characteristics of God. There is no deplorable characteristic of God. There is no sinful behavior with God. While it is true that we can reflect characteristics of God,

If your characteristics are in no way a reflection of the characteristics of god, then how is it true that we can reflect the characteristics of god?

Are we in the image of god (is that your belief) or?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

You are wrong.

We ought not fool ourselves into thinking that Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in a different God. It is surely the same God they believe in. The God that Abraham spoke of is indeed the same God that Muslims believe in. People have perceptions. Two different people can meet my acquaintance and come to two very different conclusions about me. It could be that one of them is wrong about me. It could be that both of them are right about me. Or it could be that both of them are wrong about me. External influences play a significant antecedent role in the development of our perceptions of those experiences we have, but we must keep in mind that perceptions are more consequentially constructs of the mind.

How does one perceive God? Is it by the perceptions of others? How can we reliably place honest and good faith in the existence of God based on the constructs of other people's minds? We can't. Their experiences can only serve as a comparison to the perceptions that we have.

If we are to have faith in God it must be because we have experienced Him in some significant way. even then our perceptions of Him are likely desperately flawed.

"For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians:1)

I used to believe all three religions believe in the same god. Then it dawned on me. Christians believe god is Christ. Judaism doesn't define god. Muslims define god (has characteristics of him-creator, compassionate, etc) but doesn't define him as a person.

Do characteristics differentiate whether each religion believes in a different god or can that same god be human, be defined, and not defined at the same time?

 

[Sonofason]

Eh. I guess it's alright to think we could have different perceptions of the same god. I honestly think that's an abrahamic mindset. Nothing wrong with it, just inherently irritating. Below is a contradiction. Can you clarify?


If your characteristics are in no way a reflection of the characteristics of god, then how is it true that we can reflect the characteristics of god?

Are we in the image of god (is that your belief) or?

I believe, as do many other believers that God expresses his love towards them. So let us say that a characteristic of God is that he is loving. We can be loving as well. But then again, we can be liars. I do not believe that God lies to anyone. So lying, in my opinion is not, and never has been a characteristic of God.

 

[Sonofason]

I used to believe all three religions believe in the same god. Then it dawned on me. Christians believe god is Christ. Judaism doesn't define god. Muslims define god (has characteristics of him-creator, compassionate, etc) but doesn't define him as a person.

Do characteristics differentiate whether each religion believes in a different god or can that same god be human, be defined, and not defined at the same time?

Something tells me that spirits are somehow capable of manifestation as physical beings. We see in the Bible that angels oftentimes took human form. Aren't angels supposed to be spirit beings? Other spirits, like our spirits when we die supposedly continue to exist in some kind of spiritual form. If they can exist after our deaths, they certainly could have existed before our deaths. If our spirits can be manifested into physical beings, I see no reason why God himself cannot manifest himself in human form. And that is Christ, the manifestation of God in human form, with human limitations.

 

[muhammad_isa]

I used to believe all three religions believe in the same god. Then it dawned on me. Christians believe god is Christ. Judaism doesn't define god. Muslims define god (has characteristics of him-creator, compassionate, etc) but doesn't define him as a person.

Do characteristics differentiate whether each religion believes in a different god or can that same god be human, be defined, and not defined at the same time?

You are pointing out the differences in creed
What about the common beliefs between them:-
1. Almighty God is the creator and maintainer of the universe
2.He has chosen prophets from mankind to guide us
3. The Biblical stories
4. The existence of Angels
etc.

Clearly, creeds can't be correct on all of their beliefs. That doesn't mean that there exists 'many gods', it simply means that people misbelieve

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Something tells me that spirits are somehow capable of manifestation as physical beings. We see in the Bible that angels oftentimes took human form. Aren't angels supposed to be spirit beings? Other spirits, like our spirits when we die supposedly continue to exist in some kind of spiritual form. If they can exist after our deaths, they certainly could have existed before our deaths. If our spirits can be manifested into physical beings, I see no reason why God himself cannot manifest himself in human form. And that is Christ, the manifestation of God in human form, with human limitations.

That make sense. I'm asking more, if Christians believe Jesus is god, Jews do not define god, and Muslims define god but not as a manifestation of any sort, how can these three natures be of the same god?

To those who do not believe Jesus is god, then the mirror of their view of god and Muslim seem to correlate. However, since Jews do not wish to discuss the nature of their god, it is hard to assume how they see him to compare if their god is the same as Muslim and even more so Christian.