Brother Fred

Besides via revealed religion, have theists offered an argument for the existence of only one god? It seems to me that all their arguments thus far don't exclude the possibility of multiple gods.

Brother Fred

I need to clarify. Have they offered an argument against polytheism?

Lobstrosity

Doesn't the Bible (or at least the Old Testament) actually imply that other gods actually do exist? I'm no Biblical scholar, but I seem to remember something about Moses' confronting the Pharaoh and challenging the Pharaoh's god to beat Moses' god. The Pharaoh threw down his staff and it turned into a snake (I assumed here that his feable little god did this, because I'm not sure why God would have done this for him) and then Moses does something to kick ass (I don't remember what, but obviously the Hebrew god triumphs). I always thought it was weird that the Old Testament doesn't seem to have a problem admitting that other gods exist so long as everyone understands that the Hebrew God is king chicken. The New Testament then seems to say that the notion that any other gods exist is pure idiocy. Am I wrong in my interpretations of things? If anyone has a more accurate account of the things I'm probably just pulling out of my ass, please feel free to enlighten me.

Darth Dane

It says in the bible.
"you shall have no other God than me"

This must means that I can choose between several God's!

What the other God's are, I don't nessacarily (sp?) know




DD - Spliff

Silent Dave

I've only seen one argument for one God as opposed to many gods. It was quite a long time ago that I read it, but IIRC it went something like this: "Occam's Razor says that the simplest explanation is usually correct. One God is simpler than many gods. QED."


Dave

Darth Dane

Well the thing is, if we have two or more god's (outside ourselves), then what reality are they in? Can they communicate?

What is their common denominator? Is there a God for them?

On so, up it goes, until you say yes to one underlying reality for all existencial levels, if you catch my drift.

If that is true, then that ruling reality is a part of me. I and I am that which is (the real reality )

So th eultimate reality must be acting trough me....somehow.



Occams razor it seems is a smart device




DD - Love Spliff

Jayhawker Soule

Why would Occam's Razor have any applicability to the Supernatural.

Darth Dane

Why would it not?

If you can explain that I can easily explain the other

The most elaborate riddle, is simple once you know the answer, so teh simple solution tends to be the right one.

And as stated, what is more simple; one underlying reality, or multiple that have paradoxes?

I haven't spent so much time with teh theory of occams razor, but if that isa the gist of it, then the answer to any question will seem simple once you see it.





DD - Love Spliff

Jayhawker Soule

No, that is not what was stated. To counterpose monotheism as "one ultimate reality" sans paradox to "multiple [ultimate realities] that have paradoxes" is absurd at best, disingenuous at worst.

As is evident.

Occam's Razor is not a theory but a rule of thumb. The sole value of the criteria of parsimony is its use as an heuristic for determining an order by which theories might be offered for testing, and this is only true for those cases where the 'simpler' theory is easier to test. None of this is applicable to monotheism versus polytheism, since neither are theories, i.e., neither are testable and falsifiable explanations of phenomena.

Applying Occam's Razor to the Supernatural is equivalent to employing it to determine which Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tail is 'best'.

Darth Dane

"No, that is not what was stated. To counterpose monotheism as "one ultimate reality" sans paradox to "multiple [ultimate realities] that have paradoxes" is absurd at best, disingenuous at worst."

No the point is, if there is more ultimate realities, and they are oppossite eachother, then THAT must be THE reality, that many realities exist and that they are contradictionary. That is teh one reailty.

"Occam's Razor is not a theory but a rule of thumb."

I see, someone mentioned it was a theory, wasn't there?

"Applying Occam's Razor to the Supernatural is equivalent to employing it to determine which Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tail is 'best'."

Applying ANY "language" form to express the Ultimate Reality is by default only approximative.

Only the direct knowledge that is before "language" and thus mind, is real. Alas it seems it is subjective then.






DD - Love Spliff