“When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” That quote is one of the ones I see quite often when I see atheists debating with theists. Of course, that argument really only works with those who believe in one god, or a very limited number of gods. Naturally, the majority of the religious in the US do believe in a single god, so it makes sense to bring that one out, though it’s probably not as effective as some might hope at persuading people to see their perspective. That said, this idea has in part made me shift my perspective.
It has made me more open to considering the idea of polytheism, and that there may be multiple gods. I’m still a pretty happy not too religious monotheist at this point, but the thought does offer an interesting perspective. If I’m willing to consider the existence of one god, why not the existence of many gods? There’s really no rule that says there can be only one after all. Well, there are such rules in some religions, but other religions quite obviously believe just the opposite, so we can’t really use one particular religion as the barometer for the others.
So my current belief revolves around the idea of their being one god who created everything, and he may or may not involve himself in our affairs at his discretion, though if he does, it’s not generally in a way that is going to blatantly reveal his existence. After all, if he did that, then we would know it, and we quite clearly don’t.
But what if that isn’t the case? I mean, it could be, but it could just as easily be that there are many gods working together to create and maintain our world. It could also be that we came from nothing, or the universe has just always been. I’ve already considered that, and certainly think it’s possible, but it’s not what I believe. On the other hand, I’ve spent less time considering the idea of there being many gods. Our culture basically assumes a single god in many aspects of life, so it’s what we’re immersed in. But just because it’s what we’re immersed in doesn’t mean it’s right.
I can definitely say that services I’ve attended have a very different feel to them depending on whether they are dedicated to a single god or multiple deities. That may also have more to do with the nature of the services themselves though. A service in a church is very different from a pagan ritual after all. That said, the church services I’ve been a part of tend to feel more grounded, but god also feels more at a distance where he can watch and step in if necessary. Pagan rituals I’ve attended tend to feel more energetic, less controlled, and deities tend to feel more present and directly involved.
A lot of this certainly has to do with the psychology of the services and what they were created for. In my experience, monotheist services tend to be oriented toward advice on living a better life. Certainly, some groups do this better than others. Polytheist services tend to be oriented toward celebration of a time or deity and how the time of year affects people. None of that is set and stone, and there is certainly some crossover, this is just how things tend to go with the services I’ve attended.
All of the above said, intellectually speaking, there is something to be said for atheism. Ask many atheists would correctly point out, there is no proof or empirical evidence for the existence of any gods, at least not in the sense most people understand the word. If you view the world clearly in terms of evidence or no evidence, then there isn’t any room for that which has no evidence, and therefore no room for god.
Many people don’t think in this way though. Most people, myself included, find anecdotal evidence, emotional connections, and similar things quite compelling, even as we understand that such things are not necessarily a reliable means of understanding the world. Obviously, I’m not going to stake my health or money on anecdotal evidence if I have a better option. But my faith and beliefs? Yeah, that I do base on some anecdotal evidence and emotion. Some might call that a mental disconnect. I think it’s more part of being human that we do this, or other things that may not always be considered rational in light of the empirical evidence.
Sponsored Link