# For The Religious: What about other gods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 27, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442 "2014-02-27T19:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/1 "2014-02-27T19:40:59Z")
What do you believe about deities other than your own? Are you atheistic about them, believing that they do not exist? Are you unsure about their existence? Do you believe that they are just avatars of your own deity? Other? This question came to mind after reading for the umpteenth time that atheism is a religion because they cannot, with _absolute_ certainty, _prove_ that God doesn’t exist. Is this reasoning valid when the shoe is on the other foot? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/2 "2014-02-27T19:51:35Z")
Predict that many responses will fall into the category of “other religions are valid but based on distorted understanding of the [read: our] truth.” Namby-pamby faux acceptance, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/3 "2014-02-27T19:54:21Z")
Clearly, in the OT, there were other gods being worshiped that were not a manifestation of God (the God of Abraham), so I don’t think we can accept that answer across the board from Christians and Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/4 "2014-02-27T19:55:01Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Predict that many responses will fall into the category of “other religions are valid but based on distorted understanding of the [read: our] truth.” Namby-pamby faux acceptance, in other words. Let’s let them speak for themselves for just a bit before posting preemptive strikes, o.k.? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/5 "2014-02-27T19:59:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Clearly, in the OT, there were other gods being worshiped that were not a manifestation of God (the God of Abraham), so I don’t think we can accept that answer across the board from Christians and Jews. That is one interpretation, but not the only one currently out there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/6 "2014-02-27T20:01:36Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That is one interpretation, but not the only one currently out there. I’m not following you. In the OT, those folks worshiping, say, the Golden Calf, weren’t just mistaking the GC for God. The GC was being worshiped as a different god. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/7 "2014-02-27T20:04:10Z")
I want to know what the source of power for Pharaoh’s sorcerers, who were able to turn staffs into serpents, was. Surely not the God of the Israelites, but it must have been some kind of god. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/8 "2014-02-27T20:06:23Z")
In the end, does the OT say the other gods are false because they are less/no longer powerful; do not respond to entreaties; or do not exist? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/9 "2014-02-27T20:06:42Z")
As a Jew, I don’t especially care. ( **Amateur Barbarian** was right to an extent.) The Talmud makes it clear that all righteous people have a place in whatever reward G-d has planned. I have a friend who worships the Norse pantheon. Is he a good person who is kind to the stranger, clothes the naked, feeds the hungry etc and treats others as he would have them treat him? Yes, he is. So, it doesn’t matter which deity he worships. One of the only bits of glurge I like has Abraham taking a stranger in to his tent and feeding him. Abraham then commands the man to pray to G-d. The man refuses, explaining that he has his own deity. Abraham becomes angry and throws the man out. Later, G-d appears to Abraham and says “I commanded you to feed the hungry. I didn’t say feed them only if they believe in me. Go find that man and apologize.” So Abraham does. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/10 "2014-02-27T20:07:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m not following you. In the OT, those folks worshiping, say, the Golden Calf, weren’t just mistaking the GC for God. The GC was being worshiped as a different god. But I’m not asking if there were other gods in the Bible that people worshipped. I’m asking those of the Straight Dope that are religious in nature what they think about the deities that other religions worship, and I’m _really_ hoping to hear what they believe in their own words. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/11 "2014-02-27T20:08:58Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I want to know what the source of power for Pharaoh’s sorcerers, who were able to turn staffs into serpents, was. Surely not the God of the Israelites, but it must have been some kind of god. Not what this thread is about. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/12 "2014-02-27T20:10:17Z")
Hell, even within the Christian tradition, what exactly are angels if not demigods? They have power no mortal has, they don’t age, they can defy the one supreme being so they have their own will. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/13 "2014-02-27T20:11:00Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > As a Jew, I don’t especially care. Which brings forth another point: how many religions feel a need to establish not just superiority but exclusivity, at any price? Do any religions practice proselyting to the level of jihad except for Christianity and its young cousin Islam? Or are most more like Judaism, tolerant of different beliefs that gain the same (humanist) end? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/14 "2014-02-27T20:11:00Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I want to know what the source of power for Pharaoh’s sorcerers, who were able to turn staffs into serpents, was. Surely not the God of the Israelites, but it must have been some kind of god. Not necessarily. One view is indeed that the Egyptian sorcerers got power from supernatural beings (whether the gods of Egypt or demons). Another view, as seen in the film Prince Of Egypt, is that they were stage magicians using tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/15 "2014-02-27T20:12:38Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Hell, even within the Christian tradition, what exactly are angels if not demigods? They have power no mortal has, they don’t age, they can defy the one supreme being so they have their own will. Once again, the topic is the deities of _other_ religions than the one the poster follows. BTW, any quote or set of quotes isn’t going to settle this issue because I didn’t restrict this thread to those that follow the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/16 "2014-02-27T20:14:01Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Which brings forth another point: how many religions feel a need to establish not just superiority but exclusivity, at any price? Do any religions practice proselyting to the level of jihad except for Christianity and its young cousin Islam? Or are most more like Judaism, tolerant of different beliefs that gain the same (humanist) end? How about we attempt to address the point of this thread first? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/17 "2014-02-27T20:15:01Z")
The church I grew up in would say that other deities either don’t exist or are deceptions of Satan. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/18 "2014-02-27T20:19:43Z")
Let me try to clear this up: _For the Religious_: What do you believe _about deities other than your own?_ Not the religions that follow those deities, but the deities themselves. As an atheist, I hate it when others try to tell me what I believe or disbelieve and why, and so I would like to avoid having that happen in this thread when it comes to what the religious believe about other deities. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/19 "2014-02-27T20:20:45Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > The church I grew up in would say that other deities either don’t exist or are deceptions of Satan. And what do you currently believe? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442/20 "2014-02-27T20:25:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And what do you currently believe? I’m philosophically agnostic and functionally atheist. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-religious-what-about-other-gods/682442.md?page=2)