Didn't want to poop all over Corbin's thread with my perplexity, so here's a different thread. This multiple-god monotheism thing bothered me, so I did ask a Christian about it today, not verbatim, obviously, but generally accurate:
"In your church, is there one God or many gods?"
"There is only one God."
"Are there other gods out there but you simply don't worship them?"
"There are other gods out there, but they are all false gods, the Christian God is the only true God."
"What qualities make the Christian God the One True God?"
"He created everything, knows everything, has all power in the universe."
"Why would so many people worship false gods? Isn't there something obvious that would clue them in that their god isn't the One True God?"
"Not everyone who hears the Word can see the truth. That's in the Bible."
"But suppose a Hindu prayed to one of their gods and everything worked out great, how would he know that his god was a false god? That doesn't seem fair."
"Maybe that's the Devil's work, I don't know. I do know that everyone who is meant to be saved will hear the word of God and be saved."
And that was enough of that, but I can't leave things alone so I spent the rest of the afternoon pondering the notion of "false god." Sometimes I am particularly obtuse about things most people seem to know instinctively, but the term makes no sense to me. To me, if a person believes there is only One True God Who holds all the power in the universe, they should respond, "No, there are no other gods, though some people worship things that are powerless and mundane as if they are divine." God = divine, right? So there is god or not god, but false god? It's like the anagram, dog. You've got dog and not dog, but false dog? Makes no sense. And for the record, this is more a matter of semantics and logic than any attempt to make a religious argument --- just in case that wasn't obvious. Anyway, enlighten me if it is possible.
"In your church, is there one God or many gods?"
"There is only one God."
"Are there other gods out there but you simply don't worship them?"
"There are other gods out there, but they are all false gods, the Christian God is the only true God."
"What qualities make the Christian God the One True God?"
"He created everything, knows everything, has all power in the universe."
"Why would so many people worship false gods? Isn't there something obvious that would clue them in that their god isn't the One True God?"
"Not everyone who hears the Word can see the truth. That's in the Bible."
"But suppose a Hindu prayed to one of their gods and everything worked out great, how would he know that his god was a false god? That doesn't seem fair."
"Maybe that's the Devil's work, I don't know. I do know that everyone who is meant to be saved will hear the word of God and be saved."
And that was enough of that, but I can't leave things alone so I spent the rest of the afternoon pondering the notion of "false god." Sometimes I am particularly obtuse about things most people seem to know instinctively, but the term makes no sense to me. To me, if a person believes there is only One True God Who holds all the power in the universe, they should respond, "No, there are no other gods, though some people worship things that are powerless and mundane as if they are divine." God = divine, right? So there is god or not god, but false god? It's like the anagram, dog. You've got dog and not dog, but false dog? Makes no sense. And for the record, this is more a matter of semantics and logic than any attempt to make a religious argument --- just in case that wasn't obvious. Anyway, enlighten me if it is possible.
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