There are about 1000 gods. Is that evidence against God?

[PureX]

Actually, I'm arguing against being correct. There are many
mutually exclusive deity options....thousands. This makes
the likelihood of picking the correct on tiny indeed.

There is no "likelihood of picking the correct one" as they are all equally likely and unlikely.

But none of that matters to the actuality of God's nature or existence. And therefor has no bearing on these as a possibility. In fact, the only thing they have any bearing on is their relative functionality to us. And that depends on the individual, and his/her circumstances.

 

[Revoltingest]

There is no "likelihood of picking the correct one" as they are all equally likely and unlikely.

Less likely are the ones with more claims, thereby
increasing the potential to be wrong about something.
But looking at it simply, there's no good method to
pick one from the thousand or more.

But none of that matters to the actuality of God's nature or existence. And therefor has no bearing on these as a possibility. In fact, the only thing they have any bearing on is their relative functionality to us. And that depends on the individual, and his/her circumstances.

If it's about picking what one wants,
one can believe anything. I see no
need to pick at all.

 

[epronovost]

If it makes you feel better, by all means, think that.


If you call a tail a leg how many legs does a dog have?

Are you implying being worshipped isn't the only common trait of every single deity in the history of mankind? That there is another one I forgot? Which one please.

You making allegations that my position is wrongheaded based on a faulty definition will require a bit more than a strawman to show me my error.

Please be so kind as to let me in on my personal definition of god.
I shall await with bated breath.
Of course, I will be in complete god definition limbo until you let me know....

That's yours to provide and you should do so clearly and explain your reasonning too unless you are in the business of being winning arguments more than in the business of debating.

 

[PureX]

Less likely are the ones with more claims, thereby
increasing the potential to be wrong about something.
But looking at it simply, there's no good method to
pick one from the thousand or more.

Of course there is: functionality. Some god-concepts will work better for some people under some circumstances than others. Since we cannot determine which god-concept is the more "correct", the next most logical criteria is which works the best, most often. And this will inevitably have to be an individual, subjective determination.

If it's about picking what one wants,
one can believe anything. I see no
need to pick at all.

That's also a "pick". And like everyone else's, it's both individual, and subjective. I don't have a problem with atheists choosing atheism; so long as they're honest about it, and can admit that their choice is exactly as subjectively based as any theist's choice is. And I find that to be a very rare degree of honesty and self-awareness. (In theists as well.)

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

IF they all are equally probable....
Well... IF.
Then...

If you have some valid reason for us to take your god more seriously than all the gods you dismiss without a second thought, please share.

 

[Revoltingest]

Of course there is: functionality.

That isn't picking the correct god from the many available.
It's just believing in the one wanted.

 

[PureX]

That isn't picking the correct god from the many available.
It's just believing in the one wanted.

There is no "correct God" that any human could possibly determine. So that issue is moot. And along with it goes the issue of "probability of correctness", too. And that's as true for the atheist as for any theist. Leaving the choice to be determined by subjective functionality (or blind ignorance).

 

[Revoltingest]

There is no "correct God" that any human could possibly determine. So that issue is moot. And along with it goes the issue of "probability of correctness", too. And that's as true for the atheist as for any theist. Leaving the choice to be determined by subjective functionality (or blind ignorance).

Atheists aren't claiming a particular god...or any god at all.
Those selecting one from the many are likely picking the wrong one.

 

[PureX]

When the atheist tells me they see no reason to choose any god-concept, I believe them, and I cannot argue with their choice, nor their reason. Their statement must be presumed both honest and sound. And the same goes for the theist who tells me that they have chosen god-concept "X" because of all the ways they perceive this god-concept to "work" for them in their lives. Again, I must presume they are being honest and that their reasoning is sound.

But I also know that neither of these people know what or even if 'God is'. And if they do not know this, then they are deceiving themselves, and in turn, attempting to deceive others.

 

[PureX]

Atheists aren't claiming a particular god...or any god at all.
Those selecting one from the many are likely picking the wrong one.

They are no more likely to have picked the "wrong one" than to have picked the "right one". Why is this so difficult for you to grasp? There is no "likelihood" to it. There is no discernible probability involved. And this lack of discernible probability goes for the atheists, as well as the theists. NOT choosing any god concept does not make the atheist any more or less "probably correct" than any choice the theist might have made.

 

[Clara Tea]

Atheists often cite the great abundance of gods.
In my opinion, this is not evidence against God.
I believe, it rather shows that God allows other beliefs to happen, for some time at least.
Here is a video by an atheist on this matter:

If you think that every single god deserves to be scrutinized equally... check out a thousand gods then.
This would be my suggestion.

God claims to be jealous. Would burn souls for eternity in hell for picking the wrong God? The Jewish religion used to be polytheistic, and the Christian and Muslim religions are spin-offs. That is, Christians and Muslims are a type of Jew themselves (religiously, not ethnically). Why does God allow the other Gods to exist? Perhaps the ancient religions dropped the other Gods, fearing reprisals from the strongest God?

 

[paarsurrey]

They are no more likely to have picked the "wrong one" than to have picked the "right one". Why is this so difficult for you to grasp? There is no "likelihood" to it. There is no discernible probability involved. And this lack of discernible probability goes for the atheists, as well as the theists. NOT choosing any god concept does not make the atheist any more or less "probably correct" than any choice the theist might have made.

This may be resolved by the Religious Method, please. Right friend, please?

Regards

 

[PureX]

This may be resolved by the Religious Method, please. Right friend, please?

Regards

I don't know what you're asking for. Sorry.

 

[Revoltingest]

They are no more likely to have picked the "wrong one" than to have picked the "right one". Why is this so difficult for you to grasp? There is no "likelihood" to it. There is no discernible probability involved. And this lack of discernible probability goes for the atheists, as well as the theists. NOT choosing any god concept does not make the atheist any more or less "probably correct" than any choice the theist might have made.

When picking from 1 in 1000, the chances
of picking the right one are 1 in 2?

 

[Kooky]

There are only 1000 Gods?
I thought there would be more...

 

[Quintessence]

There are only 1000 Gods?
I thought there would be more...

There are. A lot more. The OP undercounted a bit. A lot. A lot a lot.

Of course, this assumes taking the sum total of all things that humans deify and tallying them as individual aspects. But maybe we shouldn't get too technical.

 

[Heyo]

Atheists often cite the great abundance of gods.
In my opinion, this is not evidence against God.

Right. It isn't evidence against god(s), it is evidence that the believers don't know what they are talking about.

If you think that every single god deserves to be scrutinized equally... check out a thousand gods then.
This would be my suggestion.

Nah. I just urge the believers to get to a consensus of what a god is. Then we can talk.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Atheists often cite the great abundance of gods.
In my opinion, this is not evidence against God.
I believe, it rather shows that God allows other beliefs to happen, for some time at least.
Here is a video by an atheist on this matter:

If you think that every single god deserves to be scrutinized equally... check out a thousand gods then.
This would be my suggestion.

I would feel the most obligated to investigate just One God in the first instance and that is the God of Abraham. We know of this God through Judaism, Christianity and Islam. About 55% of the world's population are affiliated to one of these three religions. Numbers are projected to rise further in the coming decades. These religions have had enormous influence on civilization over the 1,500 years. Furthermore, there are other monotheistic religions such as Zoroastrianism, the Baha'i Faith and some movements within Hinduism. The Sacred scriptures of any of these religions along with their respective faith communities and history books give easy access to investigating monotheistic claims.

 

[Nivek001]

It's evidence that belief in any one of them
is to believe in something highly improbable

I'm interested in the probability that every
follover of every single one of the 1001
(sorry, its not 1000) Gos had the good
luck to choose the right one.

Yet they all did.

Yet there is one way to find out if a person’s belief in a certain God who wants us to rely on faith is correct.

Since it’s not in the nature for such a being to push only reliance of evidence that the whole world can see, but to rely on faith, then there is only one way for a person to find out and that means to take a leap of faith and follow the believed teachings and see what happens for yourself if those teachings are true.

Also, if it’s believed that one can get assurance of truth through asking that God in prayer then one should take a leap of faith and ask God to let you know and see what happens.

Now I’m certain there are some who would claim to have done those things and they have either received no answer or a different answer than what I’ve experienced.

In those cases that means it’s one’s word vs. my word, and since one cannot use any evidence or use the point of lacking evidence to validate any argument because it’s believed that there is a God who wants us to act on faith and therefore willingly withholds evidence, then that means there is only one way to personally find out if there is such a God and that is to act on faith and seek answers in prayer and then see whether my belief in such a God is correct.

 

[Nivek001]

Which one....God, Allah, Cthulhu, Odin, FSM, Hubbard?

There’s one way to find out if Jesus Christ is the God to follow:
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. James 1:5-6 KJV

It’s believed one can receive those answers through The Holy Ghost:
26 But the Comforter, which is the HolyGhost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26 KJV

It’s believed one can get such assurances from the Holy Ghost by experiencing the following:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 KJV