Why do alleged Pagans say their gods are "as real" as the Abrahamic deity?

Question

Congratulations for finding your way into the myriad of religions that fall into the broad category of Pagan.

Please note that if your gods are real, the Abrahamic god cannot be real as described by those who refer to him as singular, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and jealous.

If their god is real and as described by them, the god of Abrahamicists like Christians would be the only god.

You and I know he is not.

I know it is very, very hard to seem like the big meanie. I know that you want tolerance and peace and to show your love for your fellow theists, but the fact remains that when you say your gods are as real as the Christian one, you're pretty much saying neither exist.

And if you think neither exist, that's fine, but you should say so...

And if you think they all exist, but Christians just get a lot of their stuff wrong about their god, you should say that, too.

Just wondering. Why the equation?

Formerly-
I suspect that's the answer for many. The answer for the rest being "uh, I never thought about that."

AJM-
I answered one of your questions as an EX-Atheist, please don't misquote me.

Answer 1

i believe it was my quote you are referring to:
we don't worship idols, we worship gods. our gods are just as real as the christian god ; )

your question is very well articulated.

maybe i should have worded this another way:
we don't worship idols, we worship gods. our gods are just as real TO US as the christian god is TO CHRISTIANS ; )

Answer 2

Here's the thing: We are all mere mortals, and no one can ever know what God really is. All theists believe in a Creator or higher power of some sort, but beyond that, no one really knows what this higher power is. Religions are attempts by us humans to explain the Divine, and so different people come up with different interpretations. Perhaps all the different gods are just different manifestations of the Higher Power. Even Christianity believes that the One God has three different manifestations: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that all three exist. There are probably other manifestations besides these three as well.

Answer 3

The equation is that all "gods" including the ones that "existed" before the Abrahamic god are no different in their use of mythology and morality tales, or divine properties assigned to them.

So to a pagan, Jesus or Yahweh is no better or worse than any pagan god that was worshipped previously.

This is why all those Old Testament guys were having such a hard time converting the goddess worshippers. The pagans could see no reason to change the plan as Yahweh and Ishtar were only faces of the same Creator God.

Or did you really want an answer?

Answer 4

Here is my belief: the Divine in whatever form you worship it is actually an aspect of the All, the energy force that surrounds and is inside everything. Think of it as the Force without the special effects. But it's hard to build a relationship with a formless mass of energy so images of Gods were created to be worshipped. They each represent an aspect of the All. Also, when Pagans tell Christians their Gods are as real as God, what they mean is as real as God is to you. Religion shouldn't be viewed as who's right and who's wrong, but as the beautiful thing it really is. All those who hate on someone because of their religion should think about how they are representing not only themselves, but their religion and what are they really accomplishing by being hateful?

Answer 5

I think you have some faulty logic in your questions. Since no Gods/Goddesses can be proven by anything other than faith, having one person say that they believe in different gods does not cancel out another's belief in a completely different god, even if that person's belief in their god is that theirs is the only god.

Either way - none of it can be proven one way or another. You can say they exist or not - but that doesn't change what is true to a believer of any faith, as it is a matter of faith and not logic.

Answer 6

Whew! My head exploded!

Very thought provoking. I'm sure this will get bashed around, and I do apologize for not having a good answer, but what an awesome question!

Catch-22 with a monotheist twist. Cornered in a round room, so to speak.

Answer 7

Great question. Perhaps it is impossible for us to truly understand the creative force of this universe. Perhaps all of these Gods are real and unreal at the same time? I know that there is Paradox and Mystery in the pursuit of belief, and often that leads to exclusive thinking.

Answer 8

I applaud your logic. This is a very well thought out question.

But I do not call myself a Pagan, and I do not try to convince anyone that my "gods" are real, so I'm not sure how else to answer your question.

Answer 9

I believe that all the Gods and Goddesses are real but they are merely different facets of the gem that is the true Divine that we are all a part of.

All paths lead to the same place, it is only the scenery along the way that differs.

Blessed Be )O(

Answer 10

Actually, YHVH never said he was the only one. His commandments were for the Jews and the Jews alone, not all people. He said he was the only one for the Jews.

"I am The LORD your G-D, keep none others besides me," does not say, "I'm the only one guys, the other guys are just poseurs."

He does assert that he's more powerful than any of the others, but nowhere, ever, does God declare himself the only deity in the Bible.

Answer 11

You answered one of my questions as an Atheist-so what, exactly, do you believe?
Not trying to offend, just trying to make heads or tails of it.

Labgrrl-again I wasn't to offend, and I didn't quote you at all, so I didn't "misquote" you.
I apologize, but you were unclear as to what you were. It came across as you were an Atheist and still are. Now I know different.