Why "one God"?

[Saint Frankenstein]

From my perspective it is totally irrelevant except for purposes of keeping their own distinctions clear. And also because I think it makes Islam appear too alien from Christianity. It has a relationship to Christianity very similar to the relationship Christianity has to Judaism. But there are absolutely groups, all of which were later labeled gnostic, that drew sharp distinctions between God as represented by the Jewish scriptures and the more mystical (Hellenistic I would argue) God that they worshiped.

I do see Islam as being pretty alien from Christianity. Christianity is very different from both Islam and Judaism.

 

[soma]

If God is infinite,, there is only one infinity. Therefore God would be one, Unified Theory is on to it.

 

[Riverwolf]

Riverwolf, you're being far too much of a nerd in this thread. *laughs*

There's such a thing as being far too much of a nerd?

 

[The Hammer]

If God is infinite,, there is only one infinity. Therefore God would be one, Unified Theory is on to it.

With the biggest emphasis here on 'if', god was infinite.

Why not multiple gods? Multiple deities beyond our full comprehension. We have multiple seasons, multiple solar systems, multiple forms of plant and animal life... So, multiple gods.

 

[The Hammer]

Why...though.
I have many years in meditation experience, for instance, do you? What are you presenting as a legit argument? Why would I take your 'criticisms' seriously?

Why yes, I do have multiple years of meditation experience, as well. And it is in these meditative states that I have interacted with the gods, and the Nywfre that unites us all (energy).

So why one god?

 

[sojourner]

Yes, but what makes people believe there's only one god? There isn't just one of anything in the universe we know of. Plurality seems to be the rule.

There's only one me...

 

[paarsurrey]

I'm considering the OT god as separate from the NT god.

You are right there.
Paul corrupted and changed it. Concept of G-d in Torah is, therefore, different from the G-d in Gospels, but the concept of G-d of Moses and Jesus was the same, beware, and mark the distinction please.

Regards

 

[sojourner]

The fallacy is that you all are debating God/gods as if they were objects -- like football players. "Is there only one player, or are there many players?" But you've got it wrong. The Divine is the concept of the game, many perspectives, a plurality of permutations, multiple outcomes for any given pairing of teams/circumstances. There are many individual games, yet there is only one game.

 

[paarsurrey]

In part we say One God to make clear our difference from polytheists.

In part, because we believe part of what makes God God is that He is unlike all other things, and He is the only entity like Himself that there ever has been or will be or could be. So His singularity is important in that respect also.

Likewise, in believing that God is the sole source of all things, and also is omnipresent (among other things), we understand that all things are connected through God, making God, in essence, the ultimate unity.

I quite agree with you.

Thanks and regards

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

You are right there.
Paul corrupted and changed it. Concept of G-d in Torah is, therefore, different from the G-d in Gospels, but the concept of G-d of Moses and Jesus was the same, beware, and mark the distinction please.

No, Jesus did not have the same concept of god as Moses.

 

[paarsurrey]

I also think it is interesting that the early accounts in the Tanakh show a god that you can argue with, one that changes his mind, alternates between anthropomorphism and more subtle forms, etc. In other words, it isn't consistent.

For me, it seems enough that there is some fundamental, mysterious unity of all that exists, which unfolds across pretty vast scales of time and space. Is there a consciousness there? Maybe; we seem to be finding that consciousness is an emergent property found in all sorts of things, but the exploration of that sense of wonder and awe is maybe the best part of religion and science. I'm not much moved by the seemingly time bound divine decrees one finds in Leviticus or elsewhere, but I do find the mythical allusions found in those writings (i.e., the tabernacle as a microcosm created and sustained in a way that mirrors the Genesis account of creation) to be fascinating.

That is because of misunderstandings of the narrators/scribes/clergy or the corruptions made by them and making Him a racial G-d.

Regards

 

[Ingledsva]

There are plenty of false gods. None of them can prove their Godship.
Jehovah does and has proven his claim to be the only true God, by

• Foretelling his future purposes and bringing them to reality.
• Acting in human history when his purpose required it. Example: Jehovah destroyed Egypt as a world power to release the Israelites from slavery and to magnify himself as the only true God.
• Revealing himself through his creative works
• Providing his Son as a ransom for sins and resurrecting him from the dead.
• Recording the truth about himself, his will and purposes in the Holy Scriptures
• Raising up a great crowd of witnesses who worship and serve Jehovah at all costs

Not a single thing you listed can be proven as having happened!


*

 

[paarsurrey]

Not a single thing you listed can be proven as having happened!
*

I agree to many points mentioned in you post.

Regards

 

[Desert Snake]

Why yes, I do have multiple years of meditation experience, as well. And it is in these meditative states that I have interacted with the gods, and the Nywfre that unites us all (energy).

So why one god?

I've never read an argument on RF that describes those 'experiences' in a manner that I find compelling.

Because one Deity has to be the 'prime Deity' in creation, G-d is self created.

 

[Riverwolf]

The fallacy is that you all are debating God/gods as if they were objects -- like football players. "Is there only one player, or are there many players?" But you've got it wrong. The Divine is the concept of the game, many perspectives, a plurality of permutations, multiple outcomes for any given pairing of teams/circumstances. There are many individual games, yet there is only one game.

And still many different games with different rules.

Very interesting analogy.

 

[The Hammer]

I've never read an argument on RF that describes those 'experiences' in a manner that I find compelling.

Because one Deity has to be the 'prime Deity' in creation, G-d is self created.

Just as I have never read an argument that states any reason for me to believe in one ultimate god.

That is the beauty of a religion that is based upon the Experiential. It does not matter if my view is compelling to you, and vice versa.

You still have not provided any reason for why only one god can/will exist.

And I'm not even going debate the reasoning why a self-created god is ridiculous.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Just to put this out there:

It is possible to go through a worldview shift from classical monotheism to animism and polytheism. I used to be a devout Catholic until all the issues of monotheism, among other things, caused me to drop it.

 

[Gnostic Seeker]

Yes in fact I recently went from monotheism to polytheism

 

[sojourner]

That is because of misunderstandings of the narrators/scribes/clergy or the corruptions made by them and making Him a racial G-d.

Regards

No, that's simply how God was conceived by the early writers.

 

[paarsurrey]

No, that's simply how God was conceived by the early writers.

Please mention the period of "early writers".

Regards