Is the number of gods a whole number?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It can if you want it to. It's a matter of perspective.

Can you be half-French?

Being "half-French" (i.e. half of your ancestors are French and half are something else) doesn't make you half of a Frenchman (i.e. you are half a person who is entirely French).

 

[Augustus]

Being "half-French" (i.e. half of your ancestors are French and half are something else) doesn't make you half of a Frenchman (i.e. you are half a person who is entirely French).

It's just a linguistic construct and a marker of identity. If someone says they are half French and half German they don't feel they are fully either, that's what they are.

It's not like we're dealing with objective scientific concepts here. People can think what they like, same with gods.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's just a linguistic construct and a marker of identity. If someone says they are half French and half German they don't feel they are fully either, that's what they are.

Right: not fractional people, so not actually relevant to the discussion.

It's not like we're dealing with objective scientific concepts here. People can think what they like, same with gods.

Sure, but this doesn't mean we can't point out internal inconsistencies (e.g. "my god is ineffable and undefinable" vs. "fractional gods are impossible").

 

[Augustus]

Right: not fractional people, so not actually relevant to the discussion.

It is relevant, you are just thinking about it differently to me.

A human is a clear tangible reality.

An identity or the distinction between a god/demigod is a subjective linguistic construct.

"How many gods on our side?"
"We have 4 plus Heracles"
"Ok, 4 and a half, that's not too bad"

That makes sense, wouldn't you agree?

Whether someone chooses to accept this as meaning 'fractional' gods are possible is dependent on their subjective interpretation regarding a linguistic construct. There is no objective answer, just interpretation.

Sure, but this doesn't mean we can't point out internal inconsistencies (e.g. "my god is ineffable and undefinable" vs. "fractional gods are impossible").

It's not necessarily an inconsistency. An infinite god can't be fractional. An apophatic god can't be fractional.

Why do you think it is inconsistent?

 

[Whitestone]

(1Co 8:5) For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
(1Co 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

 

[soulsurvivor]

Of course we can't have negative or fractional human beings. If you understand gods to be "not that different from humans," fine. Your reply suggests that you've defined "god" for yourself at least enough to say that gods are countable objects, which means you've defined the term much more precisely than many other people have.

If the universe in infinite, then the number of Gods are also infinite even if they may be countable. But underlying all Creation as well as the Gods themselves, is a undifferentiated, impersonal consciousness which can not be counted or even understood.

 

[BilliardsBall]

An offhand remark in another thread got me to thinking:

Can you - or anyone - demonstrate that there are a whole number of gods?

To refresh everyone's memory: the whole numbers are zero and all positive integers (0, 1, 2, 3, etc.). Fractions, negative numbers, irrational number, complex numbers, etc., aren't whole numbers.

So... has anyone demonstrated that the number of gods isn't negative? Fractional? What is it about "god" that implies we can't have, say, -3 gods or 10.75 gods?

How can you ask such a facile question, when you don't even understand how 3 is 1 and 1 are 3, simultaneously?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

How can you ask such a facile question, when you don't even understand how 3 is 1 and 1 are 3, simultaneously?

You've got to be joking.

Edit: if 1 can be 3, then I suppose we could consider the Trinity 9 gods... or 81 gods, right?

 

[Baroodi]

(Say He is One, He is the Master, He begetteth not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like Him)

Quran 112

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

Yes, when you have a statue of a fake god, an idol, and a piece falls off, be it an arm or leg, or someone castrates it, it's no longer a whole number god.

So let's say your god (well, technically he's a half-god considering his parentage) gets nails hammered through his hands and feet, leaving gaping wounds. What percentage of a god do you have then?