do you think that the polytheistic religions are more believable than the monotheistic?

Question

so,
many gods
better or worse idea than..
one god? (explain)
and please don't reply with "there is only one god" i don't want to be preached at. explain answers without talking brainwash talk.

so,
many gods
better or worse idea than..
one god? (explain)
and please don't reply with "there is only one god" i don't want to be preached at. explain answers without talking brainwash talk.

and remember, it is people who introduce religion - smartarse!!!!

Answer 1

I personally don't believe any of them,without some actual proof I see no reason to bow my knee to what is nothing more than mankinds feeble attempt to explain his existence. That said I find it interesting that the earliest translations of the Bible refer to the making of man as "we will make him in our image" which of course others have said referred to God the father and his son, but since this was before the fall of man it makes no sense. And if there are no other actual Gods then what of the admonition that "you will have no other Gods before me" a statement made clearly in a way that would lead one to clearly believe that there are in fact other gods.
Good question though,and to answer the questtion posed by migz 07 the reason half the world worships based on the monotheistic ideal(Islam Judaism and Christianity) is because these are the three religions that not only teach but enforce their religion upon their people,in different parts of the world at different times rejection of these religions could mean societal rejection or in many cases even death,that's a pretty strong incentive to worship as required.

Answer 2

Personally,I don't think polytheistic systems are more believable than monotheistic (or atheistic for that matter). There pretty equal in terms of overall credibility.
From a logical point of view however, it would be easier to prove polythesim exists. Verifyably proving the existance of God is something that we have yet to do. Say that hypothetically, one day, we do prove that God exists. We couldn't claim that this God is the only God becuase in this scenario we have yet to prove that. So polytheism is still a possibility. But likewise, we can't prove that any other Gods exist, so Monotheism is a possibility too. Of course, if we did find even one more God we'd know for sure that polytheism is true, and monotheism is pure fantasy (It's easier to prove something exists than to prove it doesn't).
Until that time comes however, we'll just have to make up our own minds.

Answer 3

I don't believe in any gods, does that count? That doesn't make me better or worse than anyone else, I am just not comfortable with the idea of supreme being/s, I prefer to think this chaos is random and all the suffering in the world is not being marked as OK by anything! I have heard the free choice theory doesn't hold much ice when I look at Africa. It will be interesting though to see what others think.

Answer 4

I suppose it depends on what you mean by Theist. If you're arguing about governing persons peripheral to this reality, then certainly a Polytheist approach is a natural one to take. Humans are constantly being acted upon by all sorts of different, perhaps consciously driven forces, and it far more suits this world that it is being faught over by many rather than governed by one.

In the modern world, however, most Polytheistic religions take an abstractual approach to deity rather than a necessarily physical one. Polytheistic Gods are typically the emotional embodiment of concept, and many of their believers are entirely aware of this fact. Curiously enough, were Monotheists to take a similar view to their own deities, the believability and validity of either would be more or less the same. It is not mistaken to abstract reality into finite parts, nor is it to do so to a single, overviewing whole.

Long story short - Gods as external government, yes. Gods as conceptual abstraction or impersonal force, no.

Answer 5

The polytheistic religions I know of (Hindu, Greek, Roman) still have a "head" god at the top of the pile, the others are delegated specific duties just like in the workplace. In Christianity you have one God doing it all on the face of it, seems a bit lonely but then he has his son, angels and the holy spirit for company and help. Even the monotheistic gods have supernatural entourages, don't monotheism and polytheism amount to the same thing in all but name?

Answer 6

There are indeed many gods.

But read what Joshua said in this Darby Version of the Bible.

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods whom your fathers that were on the other side of the river served, or the gods of the Amorite, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.

Answer 7

For me they are, but that's because I was raised that way. I simply can't believe that in our entire universe that there is only one deity. The concept of monotheism just doesn't compute. But those who were raised in monotheistic religions would find polytheism just as unbelievable.

So I suppose it would depend on how you were raised and what your culture believes in that will determine which is more believable.

Answer 8

I just can't believe that there is more than one God. Why? because if a God isn't all-powerful what right has he to be a God? And if he is all-powerful, he doesn't need any help, does he?

Answer 9

No because If believe in so many gods you can get confused and find that you do not believe in any.It is like one who takes several drags for headache such that finaly he does not know which one cured him.

Answer 10

Looks like you've already made your mind up to serve other gods. You are not alone. Many people find it more satisfying to serve other gods. Since you don't want to be "preached at", I won't tell you the only way to heaven is through the one and only God, Jesus Christ.
Good luck with your "gods".