And not believe in Zeus or Odin or anybody else? After all, we can't see or hear any of them? What's the difference between an invisible single god and invisible groups of gods?
I would appreciate answers from both the athiests and the believers.
2007-10-17 03:37:59 · 36 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Corinth and Philo, good answers!
2007-10-17 03:42:35 · update #1
By the way, I don't personally believe in anything! I just wanted to know why monotheism is more accepted than polytheism.
I should have phrased my question better! Sorry...
2007-10-17 03:44:16 · update #2
I think the god of monotheism has a lot more explanatory power than gods like Zeus or Odin.
2007-10-17 03:41:42 · answer #1 · answered by Jonathan 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's OK to believe in any or all of the above-mentioned gods, plus any others, plus goddesses, or anything else you want to believe in. That's the nature of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
I went through a lot of religions before I came to the conclusion that they were all myth and metaphor, and that faith was not a valid reason to believe anything. Based on evidence and reason, I could only decide to be an atheist.
I still use gods and goddesses and the stories about them to illustrate a point which, by the way, was quite the fashion in Europe for several centuries. People who were very proper Christians indeed still used god and goddess images in art and literature, because they were useful to make a point.
2007-10-17 03:45:07 · answer #2 · answered by auntb93 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Faith" by its nature does not require proof, if you mean why is it okay to believe any faith based doctrine over any other faith based doctrine. Most religious believers hold fast to the fact that the faith they embrace "feels right" to them. What feels right is going to be driven in large part by what they've been taught. Those who follow religions of Abraham are taught that the truth was revealed to him by God Himself in the form of a burning bush that was not consumed. (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) You will probably have some answers that "it is okay because it is true," wherein lies the problem, of course.
Doubters, agnostics, and atheists generally think that belief should be based in something more measurable that what feels right. I have to admit some "beliefs" seem pretty squirrelly to me.
EDIT - Bluesage. I'm most accurately described as an atheist, agnostic, or doubter. I use the capital letter on the Christian concept of God because it follows the conventions or our written language giving a capital letter to a proper noun. I use the capital H on "Him" because it is the standard procedure. We really don't get to make _everything_ up as we go along. The issue you bring up is one of standards. There are standards for scientific explanation and measurement. There are standards for economic practice. There are standards of communication. Following the standards keeps the focus where it belongs. Not following the standards is a distraction in an already complicated debate.
2007-10-17 03:53:21 · answer #3 · answered by Arby 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The need for a philosophy that guides us in crucial decision-making in our life is unavoidable for humans. Any belief is an attempt to integrate our understanding of life and how we should live it.
If a philosophy is based on faith, it means that we simply follow the guidelines given to us by others, that we do not have to reason them out for ourselves, that by just believing what others tell us it is sufficient to be sure that we are doing the right thing. The advantage of faith is that it does not require any mental effort.
If, on the other hand, we want to discover the truth, we want to know the difference between the real and the imagined, facts and opinions, justice and injustice, morality and immorality, we have no alternative: we must make a mental effort and use logical reasoning. That is what most people find difficult.
Basically, to answer your question, it is OK to be a non-thinker because no one can force others to think one way or another. If we attempt to force people to think, we can only do it by repressing them and violating their freedom to act according to their thoughts.
2007-10-17 03:48:39 · answer #4 · answered by DrEvol 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is OK -- that's why you have many different religions -- including some (even in modern times) that worship Zeus or Odin or many other different deities.
Religion is a personal belief about the nature of the universe and how it works -- and only those who disrespect the rights of others to believe as they choose would ever say its not OK to have different beliefs.
2007-10-17 03:41:43 · answer #5 · answered by coragryph 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I, personally believe in god. Where I live, almost everyone believes in god.it's like a habit. I'm sure that the only one God exists, but Zeus, Odin and others are just a part of humans imagination.You'll ask: maybe, that one is the part of imagination too.I'll tell you that you are wrong! one thing you must do is to believe, simply believe, because there's no one who can solve such a hard puzzling.it will drive you crazy (as it happened to me once). you must feel God but NOT see.and if you'll feel that magical strength, than you'll understand why it's OK to believe in God.if you are a special person with a special soul, belief will light up your sky ( i know it sounds stupid, but it's true). It's hard to explain. words are unnecessary here! all you need to do is just to believe! and don't try to find answer or key, because you'll never find it.
2007-10-17 04:04:18 · answer #6 · answered by ani l 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We have the bible that tells us that God is real. It was written over a very long period of time by many different people. It's pretty awesome to see how cohesive it is considering this time span and the many individuals who wrote it. There's also archaelogical evidence to support the bible.
What evidence do you have to support a belief in Zeus or Odin?
2007-10-17 03:43:55 · answer #7 · answered by Teresa 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends entirely to what the reference "god" points. If by "god" you mean the answer to the question "Why is there something rather than nothing," then you have the reference correct and there is nothing wrong with that belief. If, however, your concept of "god" is about what makes crops grow, how evolution works, etc. then your conceptual reference would be be false, since none of those referents would have the usually understood attribute of god.
HTH
Charles
2007-10-17 04:00:43 · answer #8 · answered by Charles 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think people should believe in what makes sense to them, or there culture,,,,I believe in God but I also don't believe in pushing my beliefs on anyone else,,,I think personally being an extremist in any belief is a very dangerous thing and cause's to many problems along with war/death
2007-10-17 03:44:36 · answer #9 · answered by Elizabeth (the jewish princess) 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because no reason ,,.. believing in god is something optional and if someone believe in god because he asks himself about how creatures are found and that there should be a power-more thing above them .and you can believe in what u want but at least there are three religions believe in god and there are three books the bible the Koran and the tawrah . so i don't guess more than 1000000000000000000000000000000 people are wrong
2007-10-17 03:46:37 · answer #10 · answered by johnny m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋