Why would a monotheist deny polytheism?

Question

Or to put it another way: Why believe in your god but deny the existence of any other?

[And for anyone claiming "Because he told me to", there is always the possibility that other gods ask the same thing, so what is there left to choose between them?]

Anyone making unbacked statements such as "X is the only god" is primed to be mocked... as well as being marked down. Please at least try to engage your brains, people...

Tebone.... Do you consider your judgement so high and mighty that you could honestly tell the difference? How would you know whether it was one god or twenty that was speaking to you, or indeed WHICH had spoken to you in the first place? And remember: Knowledge doesn't come ex nihilo... (i.e. no "I just know").

Answer 1

Silly answer: Because if a monotheist accepted polytheism, then she wouldn't be a monotheist anymore!

Serious answer: . I am 100% convinced that there is some kind of God, Creator, or higher power, but I don't really know for sure what this Creator is like. I believe in the Judeo-Christian God because that is what my religion taught; but I am open to the possibilty that the Creator of the Universe might be completely different. I believe that God/The Creator/the Supreme Being is so complex and beyond our ability to comprehend that none of us will ever have the answer in this lifetime.

Answer 2

Good question. Some people site the first of the 10 commandments, but if anything this implies the possiblity of their being more than one god in town. Otherwise, who is God afraid of having put before him? And what would he mean in the Bible by "I am a jealous god"?

Muslims often claim on their websites that polytheism makes less sense than monotheism, under the idea that having more than one deity around would mean they'd have disagreements on how to run the universe, and so they'd get nothing done. However, that claim is easily refuted by looking any successful group where no single person was calling all the shots, whether it's a pair of parents, a comedy duo, a famous band, or a mega-corporation run by a committee. As long as we're assuming some big invisible being has the power to create the universe and the laws of physics, why would having the powers of cooperation be that less far-fetched?

Answer 3

Because we think we are correct, and others are wrong. Choice and tradition play a part in arriving at this belief or assumption. But it's not as odd as you seem to think. People do this about all the choices they make: where they live, their martial status, their values, their politics, their attitudes toward sex, etc. If we didn't believe we were right, we'd be on the other side of every argument, right? Overall, I am not sure whether that would equate with having an objective opinion, or having no committed opinion on anything.

Answer 4

Well, I think it's denying the existence of more than one god. I am a Christian - a monotheist. I believe in one God. I believe we are all God, part of God, but just one God, rather than Wiccans, who are polytheists because they believe in two Gods. Although, I don't believe that the God so and so worships, even if they worship two Gods, is really any different than the God I worship. I think all religions are basically about the same thing - doing good and learning, and no matter what you call God, or how you see God, it's still God to me. :)

Answer 5

Because in monotheist belief, there is one God, the one who created and rules all things. Yes there is a possibility that there are multiple gods, just as there is a possibility that there is no God or gods at all. But an individual is free to choose their own spiritual beliefs, and whatever works for you and fits in with your own spirituality, is what you will believe in.

Answer 6

ok.
Lte's forget about the prophets of the Old Testament like Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel who saw God and even His Clothes and talked to Him..

I ....believe in God of Israel..because He sent His Son Jesus on the Earth and everybody from that teritory heard Him, saw Him...and there are oficial data that Jesus existed and was put on cross by Pilat of Point who listened to the priests of Israel who didn't accept that was the eternal and real Son of God , and also their God (Son is also God, because is the Son of God and took care of us since the making of the world).
Perhaps because Jesus came as poor because so was the ''fortune''of Joseph who was from the family of king David.
So probably because Jesus seemed to be poor ..without a fortune...some ..like priests didn't believe..Probably they expected a rich Man...as Son of God...

Despite 2000 years of christianity we are still more polite to rich man then to poor man..

Answer 7

Good question. Clearly the bible recognized that there are other gods. Jews and christians are only told to have no other gods BEFORE their god. Additionally christians are told to believe that their god is the only one who can save them. But this only means that the other gods aren't worthy of worship, not that they don't exist.

I guess most christians just don't believe the bible or, more likely, don't even bother to read it.

Answer 8

Funny the way someone so dedicated to objectivity sounds like he thinks he has it all figured out, and is unwilling or only grudgingly willing to let other people have their own opinion.

Whoever made the universe, it wasn't you, Bunky.

Answer 9

Only God Almighty has ever introduced Himself to me. No other gods have

Answer 10

There is only one God and he said 'I am the Lord your God and before me there was no other Gods formed neither shall there be after me.