know_need_four_names

God(s)/Goddess(es) seem to be a distant concept. Even if I could the existance of God(s)/Goddess(es) or a spiritual world that parallels our's I would have a hard time trying to determine which religion represents the true will of the God(s)/Goddess(es). No matter how many times I compare the evidence involving the existance of God(s)/Goddess(es) I still end up empty handed. In fear of angering the true God(s)/Goddess(es) for worshiping false God(s)/Goddess(es) I have decided that it might be best if I refrain from taking part in any religious practice. Kind of like marriage. You wait for the right person. I am going to wait until I am certian of who the true God(s)/Goddess(es) is. Unlike Catholic nuns however I am not going to confuse the two and believe that I got married to Jesus. Does my stance on religious devotion seem somewhat unpractical?

Sigma

No, that's pretty much what I'm doing - except I don't believe we will ever be certain, so I'm resorting to atheism for the time being.

Welcome to IIDB by the way.

know_need_four_names

I am afriad that resorting to atheism might also offend the true God(s)/Goddess(es). So I geuss that makes me agnostic?

Thanks. It's nice to meet you.

Sigma

Honestly, don't be afraid of that... I'd just bury my head in the sand if I were you - I doubt the 'true Gods' would be expecting you to spend 'x' amount of time trying to seek them out.

know_need_four_names

True. I don't know if I would ever be able to follow any form of monotheistic religion. They're way too strict.

Ojuice5001

Why do you think it's likely that the true God(s)/dess(es) would be angry with you for worshipping a "false god"? To me it looks like just propaganda. I believe that there are many gods in the world. Only a few gods claim that they are very much angered when humans worship a god other than themselves; most of them were silent on the issue in ancient times, and their present-day followers, the Neopagans, assure us that the old pagan gods do not punish people for choosing the wrong religion.

So all the gods engage in rivalries with each other, but most of them don't have issues with every other god in the world--and no matter how angry they become with a particular god, they're not going to pursue a vendetta against every solitary human who happens to have chosen that particular god as a patron.

The patron god of the Jews is named Yahweh, and he is, as we all know, the one who inspired the Bible. In ancient times, he was very possessive of each member of his flock of human sheep, the Jews, and therefore was angry when they worshipped other gods. This stance was written down in the Bible, and he has allowed his humans to believe it through the ages. Throughout Christendom, he is one of the more powerful gods, but not the only one. I don't think he is powerful enough to actually pursue a draconian policy of punishing every human who worships another god. So, to return to my opening statement, the whole "false gods" thing is mostly propaganda.

Ojuice5001

On another note, the idea of spiritual virginity does have some validity. Fear of punishment isn't a good argument for it, but I respect those who think that they haven't found a religion that is quite worth believing in, but rather hold out for "the right one." Just don't end up becoming an old maid...

David B

When you consider the Vast number of conceivable god/esses, I suggest that is so many more than the also Vast, but still a Vanishingly small, number of conceivable god/esses that might be offended by you not truly understanding them.

So I wouldn't worry about it.

OTOH, if you do persist in worrying about it, I suggest you sonsider the Vast number of conceivable god/esses who are very nasty to you if you get it wrong, and consider how unlikely it is that you will find the right one.

I'd expect that at some point then, you'd come to the conclusion that there is no way to know for sure if you've got the right one, so fuck it, why worry.

David B (is getting down to the end of the bottle now)

Ojuice5001

Yes, the set of god/desses who are angered by worshipping false gods is a Vanishing fraction of the whole, but still a Vast number. (I have read Darwin's Dangerous Idea too. )

When it comes down to it, there are also a Vast number of god/desses who are more offended by atheism than by any other choice. In Library of Babel terms, atheism and agnosticism are no safer than anything else.

The methodology I recommend is different (and admittedly favors my own beliefs). I favor giving significant preference to the non-Vast number of gods and goddesses that have actually been claimed to have revealed themselves. Separating the idea of a god from any god that people actually claim to be in contact with is an analytic tool commonly used by atheists, but not self-evidently the best.

I also think that our ideas about the gods should actually reflect the world that we see. Anthropomorphism isn't as wrongheaded as it's usually portrayed, for it simply means basing our ideas about the gods (the unknown)on analogies from the things we do know best (one of which is ourselves).

Dryhad

Your position is very similar to mine (at least, how I arrived at my current position). I'm an agnostic, although drifting towards weak atheist (I attribute this drift primarily to IIDB). Far from impractical, this solution is arguably more practical than devoting one's life to something that might not be true; even strong atheists run the risk of Pascal's Wager (as you said).