How many Gods are there?

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BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
Originally posted by: Malak
Originally posted by: DVK916
god isn't real, belief in a god is a sign of a mental disease.

Prove it.

In all seriousness you of course cannot prove that God doesn't exist, but you also cannot prove he does. That being said, I believe the chance that God exists is very slight. Sure, it's possible, but highly unlikely IMO.

Edit: if you're serious about a discussion, drop me a PM. This thread will go down the tubes pretty quickly.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
the world being so sh*t is more evidence of competing gods that a single all powerful and good god.
 

judasmachine

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2002
8,515
3
81
Originally posted by: Malak
Originally posted by: Leros
All hail Thor!

Met him once. Not a very nice guy, and not very happy where his life is at. Definitely not a god, though he sure wishes he were. You might fear him for his size and anger, but only if you don't already have pity for him. Sad, sad man.

I read he committed suicide. Well according to a certain Mr. Gaiman.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: Malak
Originally posted by: DVK916
god isn't real, belief in a god is a sign of a mental disease.

Prove it.

In all seriousness you of course cannot prove that God doesn't exist, but you also cannot prove he does. That being said, I believe the chance that God exists is very slight. Sure, it's possible, but highly unlikely IMO.

Edit: if you're serious about a discussion, drop me a PM. This thread will go down the tubes pretty quickly.

You can prove God exists. Anything that does exist can be proven. It is, however, a catch-22. You have actually believe he exists before you'll want to prove it. That's what we in the business call faith.
 

loic2003

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
3,844
0
0
Originally posted by: Malak
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: Malak
Originally posted by: DVK916
god isn't real, belief in a god is a sign of a mental disease.

Prove it.

In all seriousness you of course cannot prove that God doesn't exist, but you also cannot prove he does. That being said, I believe the chance that God exists is very slight. Sure, it's possible, but highly unlikely IMO.

Edit: if you're serious about a discussion, drop me a PM. This thread will go down the tubes pretty quickly.

You can prove God exists. Anything that does exist can be proven. It is, however, a catch-22. You have actually believe he exists before you'll want to prove it. That's what we in the business call faith.
Telling something you want to believe to yourself doesn't count as proof. Sorry.
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,382
1,009
126
There are as many "Gods" as there are things for you to spend your personal resources on.

Money, alcohol, pornography, your hobbies, yourself, others, serving the church....etc.

Whatever is your absolute first priority is your God.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: Mucho
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Now I know Buddha is not a God, and there is a higher being than Buddha.


How do you know that?

Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology.

In Buddhism, a buddha (Sanskrit ?????) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), has permanently overcome desire or craving (lobha), aversion (dosa), and delusion (moha), or ignorance, and has achieved complete liberation from suffering.

anyone can become a buddha
 

futuristicmonkey

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2004
1,031
0
76
Oh Zeus, who sits high upon Olympos, god of gods, master of the lightning bolt, please send this most asinine of our kind an answer, and 200 unyoked calves will be yours if you also send me a Porsche
 

raystorm

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2001
4,712
2
0
One and his name is Optimus Prime. He is the holder of the matrix of leadership and he will save your souls.
 

Syrch

Diamond Member
May 21, 2004
3,382
2
0
From wikipedia


Names of God

Main article: Names of God

The noun God is the proper English name used for the deity of monotheistic faiths. Various English third-person pronouns are used for God, and the correctness of each is disputed. (See God and gender.)

Different names for God exist within different religious traditions:

* Abba is a name given to the Christian God. The name is used rarely and is Aramaic for "daddy", an allusion to "God the Father".[5]
* Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Arab Muslims and also by most non-Muslim Arabs. ilah, cognate to northwest Semitic El (Hebrew "El" or more specifically "Eloha", Aramaic "Eloi"), is the generic word for a god (any deity), Allah contains the article, literally "The God". Also, when speaking in English, Muslims often translate "Allah" as "God". One Islamic tradition states that Allah has 99 names while others say that all good names belong to Allah. Similarly, in the Aramaic of Jesus, the word Alaha is used for the name of God.
* Yahweh, Jehovah (Hebrew: 'Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay', ???? ) are some of the names used for God in various translations of the Bible (all translating the same four letters - YHVH). El, and the plural/capital form Elohim, is another term used frequently, though El can also simply mean god in reference to deities of other religions. Others include El Shaddai, Adonai, Emmanuel. When Moses asked "What is your name?" he was given the answer Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, which literally means, "I am that I am," as a parallel to the Tetragrammaton Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay. See The name of God in Judaism for Jewish names of God. Most Orthodox Jews, and many Jews of other denominations, believe it wrong to write the word "God" on any substance which can be destroyed. Therefore, they will write "G-d" or "Gd" as what they consider a more respectful symbolic representation. Others consider this unnecessary because English is not the "Holy Language" (i.e. Hebrew), but still will not speak the Hebrew representation written in the Torah, "Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay", aloud, and will instead use other names such as "Adonai" ("my Lord", used in prayer, blessings and other religious rituals) or the euphemism "Hashem" (literally "The Name", used at all other times). Another name especially used by ultra-Orthodox Jews is "HaKadosh Baruch Hu", meaning "The Holy One, Blessed is He".

YHWH, the name of God or Tetragrammaton, in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts.
YHWH, the name of God or Tetragrammaton, in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts.

In early English Bibles, the Tetragrammaton was rendered in capitals: "IEHOUAH" in William Tyndale's version of 1525. The King James Version of 1611 renders YHWH as "The Lord", also as "Jehovah", see Psalms 83:18; Exodus 6:3.
Research in comparative mythology shows a linguistic correlation between Levantine Yaw and monotheistic Yahweh, suggesting that the god may in some manner be the predecessor in the sense of an evolving religion of Yahweh.

* Elohim as "God" (with the plural suffix -im, but used with singular agreement); sometimes used to mean "gods" or apparently mortal judges.
* The Holy Trinity (one God in three Persons, the God the Father, the God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit) denotes God in almost all Christianity. Arab Christians will often also use "Allah" (the noun for "God" in Arabic) to refer to God.[citation needed]

* Deus, cognate of the Greek ???? (theos, '(male) deity') is the Latin word for God, and will be used in Latin portions of Roman Catholic masses. [1]

* God is called Igzi'abihier (lit. "Lord of the Universe") or Amlak (lit. the plural of mlk, "king" or "lord") in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
* Jah is the name of God in the Rastafari movement, referring specifically to Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.
* The Maasai name for "God" is Ngai, (also spelled:'Ngai, En-kai, Enkai, Engai, Eng-ai) which occurs in the volcano name Ol Doinyo Lengai ("the mountain of God").
* The Mi'kmaq name for "God" is Niskam.
* Some churches (United Church of Canada, Religious Science) are using "the One" alongside "God" as a more gender-neutral way of referring to God (See also Oneness).
* Bhagavan - "The Opulent One", Brahman -"The Great", Paramatma - "The Supersoul" and Ishvara- "The Controller", are the terms used for God in the Vedas. A number of Hindu traditions worship a personal form of God or Ishvara, such as Vishnu or Shiva, whereas others worship a non-personal Supreme Cosmic Spirit, known as Brahman. The Vaishnava schools consider Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and within this tradition is the Vishnu sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God (Vishnu). Shaivites consider Shiva as the Supreme God in similar way to the followers of Vaishnavism. The Supreme Ishvara of Hinduism must not be confused with the numerous deities or demigods which are collectively known as devas.
* Baquan is a phonetical pronunciation for God in several Pacific Islander religions.
* Buddhism is non-theistic (see God in Buddhism): instead of extolling an anthropomorphic creator God, Gautama Buddha employed negative theology to avoid speculation and keep the undefined as ineffable [citation needed]. Buddha believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to liberation. Enlightened ones are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g, the Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A bodhisattva is an altruistic being who has vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha") too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the devas or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free from the cycle of reincarnations (samsara). Some Mahayana and Tantra Buddhist scriptures do express ideas which are extremely close to pantheism, with a cosmic Buddha (Adibuddha) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being - although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism.
* Jains invoke the five paramethis: Siddha, Arahant, Acharya, Upadhyaya, Sadhu. The arhantas include the 24 Tirthankaras from Lord Rishabha to Mahavira. But Jain philosophy as such does not recognize any Supreme Omnipotent creator God.
* Sikhs worship God with these common names Waheguru Wondrous God, Satnaam (True is Your Name), Akal (the Eternal) or Onkar (some similarity to the Hindu Aum). They believe that when reciting these names, devotion, dedication and a genuine appreciation and acceptance of the Almighty and the blessings thereof (as opposed to mechanical recitation) is essential if one is to gain anything by the meditation. The assistance of the guru is also believed to be essential to reach God.
* In Surat Shabda Yoga, names used for God include Anami Purush (nameless power) and Radha Swami (lord of the soul, symbolized as Radha).
* The Bahá'í Faith refers to God using the local word for God in whatever language is being spoken. In the Bahá'í Writings in Arabic, Allah is used. Bahá'ís share some naming traditions with Islam, but see "Bahá" (Glory or Splendour) as The Greatest Name of God. God's names are seen as attributes, and God is often, in prayers, referred to by these titles and attributes.
* The Shona people of Zimbabwe refer to God primarily as Mwari. They also use names such as Nyadenga in reference to his presumed residence in the 'heveans', or Musikavanhu, literally "the Creator".
* Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda.
* To many Native American religions, God is called "The Great Spirit", "The Master of Life", "The Master of Breath", or "Grandfather". For example, in the Algonquian first nations culture, Gitche Manitou or "Great Spirit" was the name adopted by French missionaries for the Christian God. Other similar names may also be used.
* Followers of Eckankar refer to God as SUGMAD or HU; the latter name is pronounced as a spiritual practice.
* In Chinese, the name Shang Ti ?? (Hanyu Pinyin: shàng dì) (literally King Above), is the name given for God in the Standard Mandarin Union Version of the Bible. Shen ? (lit. spirit, or deity) was also adopted by Protestant missionaries in China to refer to the Christian God.
* Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Truth, Love, and Spirit are names for God in Christian Science.[6] These names are considered synonymous and indicative of God's wholeness.
 

djheater

Lifer
Mar 19, 2001
14,637
2
0
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Alright, all this talk of religion got me thinking. How many Gods are there? Which God is the right God? Suppose I don't know anything about any God, what would be the defining persuasion for me to convert to a certain religion?

I'm not a very religious person, and I'm a Buddhist by birth. Now I know Buddha is not a God, and there is a higher being than Buddha. So who is this supposed being? Is this the same God as everyone's, if there is a God?

Deciding on the 'right' god is a human decision and by definition we can't understand a higher being (though that does not preclude faith). All or none is irrelevant as long as you lead a righteous life, which your Buddhism has prepared you for.
 

Gautama2

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2006
1,461
0
0
Originally posted by: SSSnail
Alright, all this talk of religion got me thinking. How many Gods are there? Which God is the right God? Suppose I don't know anything about any God, what would be the defining persuasion for me to convert to a certain religion?

I'm not a very religious person, and I'm a Buddhist by birth. Now I know Buddha is not a God, and there is a higher being than Buddha. So who is this supposed being? Is this the same God as everyone's, if there is a God?

From a fellow Buddhist, you probably know that there are higher individuals than humans, such as Devas. But this is NOT like the god of other religions. Other religions believe these gods are responsible for things which they cannot explain, such as how we got to Earth. Or like how the sun moves across the sky.

Most religions claim that by believing and worshipping this god he will spare you and send you to Heaven, a great place, instead of Hell which is beyond horrible. I think botht he claim that there is a god, and that these two places exist, is complete bull. As a Buddhist, you know that you must have great karma to move to a better form/place.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
The act of calling a god God just makes no sense to me. Most other religions have actual names for their gods.

The other thing that doesn't make much sense is that in most other religions, there is an evil god. Now Satan would be the evil counterpart of the Christian God, but is he considered a god?

Why is it that so few few people worship the evil counterparts?

There are just too many inconsistencies and unanswered/unanswerable questions in religion for me to believe in anything.
 

RapidSnail

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2006
4,257
0
0
SSSnail, if you're really interested, which for some reason is doubtable, the entire question boils down to the Bible's infallibility. If you can show errors in the script (KJV), then you have effectively destroyed the basis of the Christian faith (an imperfect God, contradicting Psalms 12:6). With only one explanation for the beginning of life remaining, assuming you have found errors, than the only difference between the gods is which afterlife, if any, you wish to achieve. But you had better be absolutely sure that you are making the right decision, because if the God of the Bible is alive, then I'm sure you know what happens to those that deny him.
 
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