Monotheism: If there is only one God..

[Kenaz]

If there is only one God, then why do you all fight over who's God (notice singular), whether it is be called God, Allah, Atum (First Egyptian Monotheistic Deity), etc? If such a single God exists, why the struggle against other faiths (representing a God)? Isn't the mere fact that you all fight over this show that you consider them a threat, perhaps suggesting you question that your own belief is wholly the right one? For, if you truly understood and believed faithfully that your God was the One, then why bother with others who believe differently if you know you are right? The act of fighting over it just proves you do not accept your God's existence 100% and must prove to others (mirroring the fact you are proving to yourself) that it is real.

Kind of silly, isn't it? I wish you all would fight for Santa's sake, he was so nice and we let him die. Joking aside, please consider this and comment.

 

[sandandfoam]

Fighting?
Kind of depends on who you choose to attend to doesn't it?
I find the concept of Allah a beautiful one and I don't fight with anyone about it.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

My take: God is so big that one term, one word, one ideology cannot describe Him. (Even the male pronouns are incomplete, but I find it too awkward to include the female pronouns beside.) We all have part of the truth, like that old fable about the six blind men with the elephant. One felt the tail and said the elephant was like a rope, another felt the side and said the elephant was like a wall, the one touching a tusk said the elephant was like a spear, etc. They all walked away convinced that they alone were right, when in fact they were each partially right.

Similarly, I've wondered why many atheists spend so much energy trying to convince others there is no God. On many a website, someone will ask a question about God or Jesus, only to have at least one responder interject, "There is no god. It's a fairy tale." I find this unhelpful because the question asked was not, "Is God real?" Why do some people feel so charged up about something that "isn't real?"

 

[Kenaz]

Fighting?
Kind of depends on who you choose to attend to doesn't it?
I find the concept of Allah a beautiful one and I don't fight with anyone about it.

Stephen and others,

Let me clarify.. this is mainly directed at those who DO fight (physically as well) over religions and who do not respect each person's inalienable right to believe what they want. I am glad you find happiness with the concept of Allah, and EVEN MORE glad you can do it without assuming everyone else has the same method of arriving at that point of happiness.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

If there is only one God, then why do you all fight over who's God (notice singular), whether it is be called God, Allah, Atum (First Egyptian Monotheistic Deity), etc? If such a single God exists, why the struggle against other faiths (representing a God)? Isn't the mere fact that you all fight over this show that you consider them a threat, perhaps suggesting you question that your own belief is wholly the right one? For, if you truly understood and believed faithfully that your God was the One, then why bother with others who believe differently if you know you are right? The act of fighting over it just proves you do not accept your God's existence 100% and must prove to others (mirroring the fact you are proving to yourself) that it is real.

Kind of silly, isn't it? I wish you all would fight for Santa's sake, he was so nice and we let him die. Joking aside, please consider this and comment.

If there is only one God (and I believe there can only be one laissez faire God, or none), then that God is not represented by any of the revealed religions--revelation and the supernatural relying, after all this time, purely on hearsay. To argue against revealed gods is to argue against artificial instruments of power and influence.

 

[NathanShepard8888]

My take: God is so big that one term, one word, one ideology cannot describe Him. "

How about The Most High?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Fighting?
Kind of depends on who you choose to attend to doesn't it?
I find the concept of Allah a beautiful one and I don't fight with anyone about it.

Yet Allah commands all Muslims to conquer the world in his name. I find no beauty in theocracy, only evil.

 

[rusra02]

I agree that fighting is wrong. However, if there is one true God, and I believe there is, then all the other gods are mere nothings, that can do nothing except mislead their adherents. Coming to know the one true God is lifesaving, in my opinion. The Bible reasons this way: "For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” However, how will they call on him if they have not put faith in him? How, in turn, will they put faith in him about whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?" (Romans 10:13,14) Since Jehovah created us, he can help us to understand life's most important questions, and also keep us from making serious mistakes that could harm us and others. I believe these are powerful reasons for finding the answer to the question: who is the true God?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I agree that fighting is wrong. However, if there is one true God, and I believe there is, then all the other gods are mere nothings, that can do nothing except mislead their adherents. Coming to know the one true God is lifesaving, in my opinion. The Bible reasons this way: "For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” However, how will they call on him if they have not put faith in him?

Why should anyone put faith in that God, who might not be the one true God? The word of that God being delivered by a fallible man?

How, in turn, will they put faith in him about whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?" (Romans 10:13,14) Since Jehovah created us, he can help us to understand life's most important questions, and also keep us from making serious mistakes that could harm us and others. I believe these are powerful reasons for finding the answer to the question: who is the true God?

Yes, but somehow you started by believing that "Jehovah" is the one true God. And so did all the followers of all the other gods. Being that the foundation for belief in all these gods is revelation hearsay, it looks like they're all not the One. The deist God is the only one that makes no revelations. It does not declare It's existence. It establishes no church or word of God which can be misrepresented and mistranslated. It causes no miracles. It doesn't require faith that it exists. If God does exist, that's the only one that fits with what we see around us. That would be the one true God, if one exists--and it never needs to say a word. Profound.

 

[sandandfoam]

Yet Allah commands all Muslims to conquer the world in his name. I find no beauty in theocracy, only evil.

I believe we see ourselves reflected in the world. It's depressingly easy to be down on Islam and I think there can be comfort in hating.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I believe we see ourselves reflected in the world. It's depressingly easy to be down on Islam and I think there can be comfort in hating.

It's easy because Islam makes it so. Every Muslim is required to work to accomplish this:

Quran (9:29):
"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

 

[rusra02]

Why should anyone put faith in that God, who might not be the one true God? The word of that God being delivered by a fallible man?



Yes, but somehow you started by believing that "Jehovah" is the one true God. And so did all the followers of all the other gods. Being that the foundation for belief in all these gods is revelation hearsay, it looks like they're all not the One. The deist God is the only one that makes no revelations. It does not declare It's existence. It establishes no church or word of God which can be misrepresented and mistranslated. It causes no miracles. It doesn't require faith that it exists. If God does exist, that's the only one that fits with what we see around us. That would be the one true God, if one exists--and it never needs to say a word. Profound.

I believe each of us must examine the evidence for ourselves to determine who is the true God. Jehovah challenges the false gods to prove their godship, while demonstrating his Godship by unerringly foretelling what he will accomplish and then fulfilling his promises. (Isaiah 46:9,10 and 43:9,10)

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I believe each of us must examine the evidence for ourselves to determine who is the true God. Jehovah challenges the false gods to prove their godship, while demonstrating his Godship by unerringly foretelling what he will accomplish and then fulfilling his promises. (Isaiah 46:9,10 and 43:9,10)

But there is no such demonstration, just hearsay, from 3000 years ago and beyond. You as who is the true God? You answer your own question, Truth. Follow that without self-deception, and whatever is there, there will be God. But man, because of his free will, is the only animal capable of lying, especially to ourselves--and we've become so very good at it.

 

[rusra02]

But there is no such demonstration, just hearsay, from 3000 years ago and beyond. You as who is the true God? You answer your own question, Truth. Follow that without self-deception, and whatever is there, there will be God. But man, because of his free will, is the only animal capable of lying, especially to ourselves--and we've become so very good at it.

The Bible does demonstrate Jehovah's ability to do so, IMO. Care for a few examples? Jehovah foretold by name the man who would conquer Babylon and release the Israelites from captivity long before he was born. He also foretold the exact year when the Messiah would appear and foretold Jerusalems second destruction, some 500 years before these events occurred. The book of Daniel foretold the rise and fall of world powers so accurately, critics charged without proof that these events were recorded after they occurred.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

The Bible does demonstrate Jehovah's ability to do so, IMO. Care for a few examples? Jehovah foretold by name the man who would conquer Babylon and release the Israelites from captivity long before he was born. He also foretold the exact year when the Messiah would appear and foretold Jerusalems second destruction, some 500 years before these events occurred. The book of Daniel foretold the rise and fall of world powers so accurately, critics charged without proof that these events were recorded after they occurred.

Well, the entire Bible was written by fallible men. Why would there be warnings in the O/T and N/T not to add or take away anything from the Bible? That's like God warning Himself not to change His own words. Why would He reveal Himself only to a few individuals in a language that needed to be translated? Why is there no evidence for any supernatural event or revelation--except hearsay. If I told you that God told me these things, would you believe me? Why? Or Why not?
Religion is a source of power that's been used in alliance (or as One) with secular power since the days of the cave man.
If God wanted us to know something, It would have written it in the sky, in a universal language, at the dawn of man

 

[Riverwolf]

The act of fighting over it just proves you do not accept your God's existence 100% and must prove to others (mirroring the fact you are proving to yourself) that it is real.

Speaking as a pluralist-polytheist, how do you figure this rather absolutist declaration? That is, a pattern of behaviors is caused by one single psychological cause in every single individual, or at least the vast majority of them?

Have you considered other possible causes for this troublesome behavior from militant monotheists? Considering such alternative options might better allow those of us who want nothing to do with monotheism weed out and discard similar patterns of behavior that we've been ingrained with, so we don't end up making the same mistakes without realizing it.

 

[dust1n]

How about The Most High?

I do believe that is a tie between Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson.