Questions for Monotheists

[Rational Agnostic]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

 

[Phantasman]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

Good question. I am not monotheist, though I do believe in something above and beyond the materialistic. The mind has many unexplained abilities. And I personally believe that man has never, nor will ever, create anything as immeasurable as the mind. When you think about it, man has never created anything. He is an engineer that uses created parts to utilize in a material arena. So the one who created all we see, is much more above our simple existence.

I cannot be so arrogant to say "I know". So I seek a path higher than what "I know".

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

This is pretty easy.
My God exists, period.
All the others, they exist as well.
And the atheists, they don’t believe in God. But it’s ok. My God loves them too.
How is this possible?
There can only be one God, so they are all the same God.
Why should God be limited to one name, or place, or religion?

 

[sun rise]

There is only one God. People have different visions of the nature of the one God (see: Blind Men and the Elephant).

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

I do not know via empirical data to say that the one whom I worship and follow is the right one, all I know is that for me in my belief, God is the right one for me. For the Hindu, their view of God or gods are true for them. For the secularist and the atheist, their disbelief is true for them. For me, as @sunrise said, there is only One God, the Creator of the Universe, the eternal, the sovereign, the author of all existence.

In the glorious Qur'an which Muslims follow it is said:

 

[David T]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

An atomic bomb is man made is that real?

 

[Dawnofhope]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

I base my conclusions on the study and practice of monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and more recently the Baha'i Faith. With all these monotheistic traditions there are writings that can be traced back to the Teachings of the founders. Each Faith is outstanding in its won way. Buddhism and Hinduism are outstanding Faiths too but it is less clear what the Buddha really taught in regards to God or gods, and the origins of Hinduism are even more obscure.

 

[sayak83]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

A God needs to meet certain minimal requirements.
1) The God's principles should be aimed at improving the life of humans and the state of mind as well as decrease suffering violence etc. So, child killing Gods are out. So are God's that require human sacrifice or mutilation or killing or persecuting people for their beliefs.

2) The God's revelations should not create radical conflicts with fairly well understood principles of nature after due consideration is made of what could be grasped by people at the time of revelation.

3) The methods for knowing and interacting with God should be clearly explicated and accessible to all. He should provide a means for everyone, from tribal communities to MIT graduates. The interaction should prove of positive worth for anybody who gives an honest try.

I am sure that there aren't thousands of Gods that satisfy these. What do you think?

 

[dfnj]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

All gods exist in all religions. And omnipotent God can be in two places at the same time.

I will prove to you God exists: God is just a world. What the word God means is defined by its usage in our language. God exists in our mind-space.

God represents all that is, all that will be, all that could ever be imagined, and all that could ever possibly be realized. God is unique in our language because it represents all words and semantic associations. God is more than the Flying Spaghetti Monster. If the Flying Spaghetti Monster represented everything God represented, then it would just be God with a different spelling.

What you are asking for is "evidence" so you can make a "decision" on which religion is "right". It just doesn't work this way. People choose to have faith in a particular expression of God and religion. It is a conscious choice. It's is not a decision based on reason. People choose to have faith in their lives so their lives have divine meaning as opposed nihilism.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade......

Oops, there's your mistake. Some person may have first formed an image of them, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Molech, Baal et.al., but there was some manifested truth to their power. Even today -- there are people on these forums who can verify that, about other gods. I think @TheRaginPagan has experienced their power. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize.

 

[Glaurung]

What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist?

Although I don't believe in the reality of any specific pantheon, I don't doubt the existence of certain spirits who have accepted worship (directly or indirectly) under a multitude of different guises throughout history. I think you can infer what I believe these "gods" (to the degree that there's any genuine involvement from spiritual forces) to actually be.

If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

The claim of monotheism (monotheism per se) isn't that only one particular deity exists; it is rather the claim that there is only one God. God is that which exists eternally in and of itself (non-contingently) and from which all other existing things take their being. It is a fundamentally different claim than that of polytheism, which typically ascribes to "gods" the various workings natural forces and then typically seeks to appease them to work in accord with human benefit.

Even if as a Christian, I'm wrong about the identity of God, it still remains that what I mean by God is not the same thing as what the old polytheistic religions meant by the gods. So in short your question (which is really nothing but a charge of special pleading) isn't compelling because it doesn't address what I actually believe by the notion of God.

 

[Sunstone]

I'm not a theist, let alone a monotheist, but I would think that -- if deity existed -- then it would be one (or perhaps more precisely One, with a capital "O"). That is, it would be all inclusive. But something that is all inclusive leaves no room, so to speak, for there to be other deities besides it.

 

[Grandliseur]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

First off, as you yourself point out in this post, there are many other divinities worshiped around the globe. It has been nearly 2000 years since Christ died and the Christian movement began. Yet, it has not replaced all other religions, nor was this intended from the outset.

In this then we have what I like to call the chaos god of atheists thriving together with all the others, including our own. Each person thinks his perspective, choice - the right one. So, your question is one for yourself. That I think there is enough evidence for me to believe as I do is however not enough to persuade others to join me, abandon their worldviews. I do not see tens, hundreds or thousands on their way to join me. Thus it becomes what I believe just as atheists, agnostic - have their perspective that makes them believe as they do.

 

[bobhikes]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist? Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others? If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

As a monotheist, I believe there is one god that grows and learns and that all the Gods are one god's attempt at conveying a message to humans. Humans can not fully grasp the message so it gets jumbled. Only by accepting and comparing all the religions will you get an accurate measure of what God wants

 

[Liu]

There is a difference between the pantheistic divine I believe in, and the concepts and myths I use to relate to it.

My actual beliefs about the divine are based on my personal convictions and assumptions about how reality works, and if any of those turn out to be wrong that automatically also changes my beliefs about the divine, or so I hope. Some examples for those would be that it is somehow the source of both consciousness and the natural world, that it's amoral, and that everything is a manifestation of it.
Also, about some of its aspects I'm agnostic (e.g. about whether it has one coherent consciousness and how this works).

But the images/names/metaphors I use to describe the divine, those are subjective and also only refer to certain parts and aspects of it, namely those that I relate to best. The divine has myriads of faces and I can only describe the one facing me.

 

[Jumi]

Here are questions for all monotheists: What makes you convinced that the god you worship exists, yet equally convinced that all of the thousands upon thousands of gods that others have worshiped with equal fervor do not exist?

Worship should be defined if I am to directly answer this question, but maybe I'll answer anyway. The experience of God is enough for me. I doubt there are other such experiences available as gods. If there are, I'm not privy to them. Likewise, I think all experiences of God stem from the same God, it's rather human for people to describe the same thing with different names. And those without the experience will just take their word for it when it becomes a religion.

Can you simultaneously argue for the existence of your god, while arguing for the nonexistence of all others?

I don't see a reason to. Whether someone "believes" as I do is not my concern.

If you affirm with near certainty that all other gods are manmade, why are you so certain that the god you believe in is not manmade?

All definitions are manmade. It comes from our language and thought patterns. This doesn't mean that the reality isn't the same. When we hear someone talk about falling down from an experiental point of view and someone else calculating speed as a function of gravity, they are talking about the falling all the same.

 

[JesusMyFriend]

This is pretty easy.
My God exists, period.
All the others, they exist as well.
And the atheists, they don’t believe in God. But it’s ok. My God loves them too.
How is this possible?
There can only be one God, so they are all the same God.
Why should God be limited to one name, or place, or religion?

Excellent answer. I completely agree with you.

 

[WalterTrull]

Well, for all practical purposes, there is only one thing. "Only the self is knowable." Must be we are a subset of that thing. You could call the thing God or you could call a view of that thing God. Either way, one thing, one God.

 

[Rational Agnostic]

There is only one God. People have different visions of the nature of the one God (see: Blind Men and the Elephant).

Many of the various god concepts are *very* different from each other in that the characteristics and "personality" of each god differ greatly. So, this argument doesn't follow.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

There is only one God. People have different visions of the nature of the one God (see: Blind Men and the Elephant).

Except that the story works out the same if the blind men have a whole bunch of elephants.

Edit: the only reasons to conclude that they're touching a single elephant - or touching an elephant at all - come from the omniscient narrator of the story telling us that this is what's happening. In real life, we don't have this.