# Monotheists: If one God exists why can't there be many Gods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 12, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621 "2003-12-12T17:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/1 "2003-12-12T17:14:00Z")
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume the God of the Bible exists. Why can’t there be other ones? ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/2 "2003-12-12T17:20:13Z")
No logical reason there couldn’t be. But (_we believe that_) there just aren’t. Maybe God **ate** them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/3 "2003-12-12T17:22:22Z")
And further, how can any one god ever really be sure there are no others? Even if they see no evidence of a greater power that doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. Gods have to deal with that potential same as us humans - it seems to me. How does God know that he isn’t a brain in a vat being tricked, or imagining this whole thing from some white room in an insane asylum? DaLovin’ Dj ---
**Author:** ![Molson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Molson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molson)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/4 "2003-12-12T17:44:57Z")
From what I can tell, most all “monotheists” actually believe in multiple separate spirits. Ghosts or saints or spirits of phophets that can be called upon separately and thus are not unified at all. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/5 "2003-12-12T17:50:24Z")
If you’re going with a literal rading of the Bible, it flat out states other gods exist. Dagon, god the the Philistines, receives some attention in the Book of Samuel. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/6 "2003-12-12T17:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > From what I can tell, most all “monotheists” actually believe in multiple separate spirits. Ghosts or saints or spirits of phophets that can be called upon separately and thus are not unified at all. Which would not be worthy of worship, and therefore not Gods. In the Christian religions that believe in Saints, they have power given by God. Calling upon a Saint to help you is merely a more personal and indirect appeal. It is not that there are no other beings than God per se, but that only God can do certain things and is worthy of certain honors. God, by Christian definition, is the greatest being that can be (and possibly the greatest being of all that cannot be, too) so there is nothing more than Him. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/7 "2003-12-12T18:20:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KnightNavro \* > \*\*If you’re going with a literal rading of the Bible, it flat out states other gods exist. Dagon, god the the Philistines, receives some attention in the Book of Samuel. \*\* As does Baal, most notably in the story of Elijah. If you make the assumption that God is all powerful and all knowing, then He would know if there were other gods. If you also make the assumption that He doesn’t lie (perhaps another discussion for another time), then when He says there are no other gods, we should believe Him. In contrast, the first commandment says: > [@](#): > > _Orignally posted by Moses in Exodus 20:2-3_ > **2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. > 3 "You shall have no other gods before me.** Couldn’t this be read as God Himself admitting there are other gods? ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/8 "2003-12-12T19:02:05Z")
“You shall have no other gods before me” is not necessarily an admission that other gods are **real** ; it could be a warning that to go chasing after empty idols is to risk certain disappointment. Didn’t Elijah’s showdown with the priests of Baal end up with the challenger (Baal) a no-show? I always figured the point of the story is that Baal was a human invention. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/9 "2003-12-12T19:13:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dropzone \* > \*\*For the sake of discussion, let’s assume the God of the Bible exists. Why can’t there be other ones? \*\* As others have pointed out, the bible mentions other Gods. In fact, [according to this article](http://www.infidelguy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=43) Jehovah had a wife: > [@](#): > > Jehovah and his consort: > > How many gods, exactly, did Israel have? Together with the historical and political aspects, there are also doubts as to the credibility of the information about belief and worship. The question about the date at which monotheism was adopted by the kingdoms of Israel and Judea arose with the discovery of inscriptions in ancient Hebrew that mention a pair of gods: Jehovah and his Asherah. At two sites, Kuntiliet Ajrud in the southwestern part of the Negev hill region, and at Khirbet el-Kom in the Judea piedmont, Hebrew inscriptions have been found that mention “Jehovah and his Asherah,” "Jehovah Shomron and his Asherah, “Jehovah Teman and his Asherah.” The authors were familiar with a pair of gods, Jehovah and his consort Asherah, and send blessings in the couple’s name. These inscriptions, from the 8th century BCE, raise the possibility that monotheism, as a state religion, is actually an innovation of the period of the Kingdom of Judea, following the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. I’m not exactly sure what to make of it…maybe Jehovah got a divorce… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/10 "2003-12-12T19:14:24Z")
Depends on your definition of “god,” I suppose. If you’re going with “supernatural being with greater-than-human powers,” fine – have as many as you want. If you’re going with “ultimate force shaping and transforming the universe,” with omnipotence, omniscience, and so on wrapped in, by definition there can be only one – anything else exists only at His sufferance. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/11 "2003-12-12T19:19:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Depends on your definition of “god,” I suppose. > > If you’re going with “supernatural being with greater-than-human powers,” fine – have as many as you want. > > If you’re going with “ultimate force shaping and transforming the universe,” with omnipotence, omniscience, and so on wrapped in, by definition there can be only one – anything else exists only at His sufferance. \*\* That’s a good point, I suppose there logically _couldn’t be_ more then one all-powerful God, could there… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/12 "2003-12-12T19:31:41Z")
(rubbing my throbbing temples and thinking happy thoughts) DJ, shut up. 😉 rimshot, like [this?](http://www.inter-art.com/en/6814.htm?x=1995) Meatros and Polycarp, if we think probabalistically (?) as in that other thread, if there is one omni-god then the probability of of there being any is 1 and that increases the probability of a second. Probably. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/13 "2003-12-12T19:48:23Z")
Maybe God ate them. \>\> According to one of the Psalms, he beat them up because they weren’t running the world properly. They were still there, they had just been bitch-slapped into their place. (My god can beat up your god.) ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/14 "2003-12-13T07:16:42Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s a good point, I suppose there logically couldn’t be more then one all-powerful God, could there… Sure there could: a bunch of Gods that surpass the bounds of logic. 🙂 And there’s no reason that there cannot be multiple all powerful gods. They’d just explode into paradox every time they disagreed with each other (so maybe they just all agree on everything). ---
**Author:** ![Sergio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Sergio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sergio)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/15 "2003-12-13T13:02:40Z")
To say that someone is all powerfull means that he/she can do anything, including the destruction of other powerfull beings. But an all powerfull being cannot be destroyed, so only one all powerfull god can exist. Can, not must! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/16 "2003-12-13T13:48:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*And there’s no reason that there cannot be multiple all powerful gods. They’d just explode into paradox every time they disagreed with each other (so maybe they just all agree on everything). \*\* Now, about that “illogical” doctrine of the Trinity… :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/17 "2003-12-13T19:16:00Z")
What if there are billions of Gods but they are all identical. Merged like THE GREAT LINK in DEEP SPACE NINE. If every God is all knowing and all wise they will all make identical decisions all the time. Therefore they are a multitude of ONE. Dal Timgar ---
**Author:** ![Psychoticpsymon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Psychoticpsymon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psychoticpsymon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/18 "2003-12-13T21:05:13Z")
Well, if there were multiple gods, and they all had different opinions, and the world’s stability were built on the fact that god is infallible, what if there was a difference in opinion between them all? \*blinks out of exis ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/19 "2003-12-14T17:49:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > **As others have pointed out, the bible mentions other Gods.** As **rimshotgdansk** already pointed out, the Biblical statements regarding other gods is _not_ an admission that they exist. For example, if I were to say that Odin is a god, this does not mean that I believe that Odin actually exists. Rather, it is a recognition that Odin is considered a diety in Norse mythology, rather than an admission of his existence. Is Baal a god? Yes – a _false_ god. An entity that was worshipped as a god, but who did not actually exist. > [@](#): > > \*\* In fact, according to this article Jehovah had a wife: > \*\* Regardless of what that article says, the Bible does not depict Jehovah as having a wife. The article in question draws its conclusions from some obscure Hebrew inscriptions; as such, they cannot be claimed to represent the teachings of the prophets, patriarchs or Apostles. ---
**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621/20 "2003-12-14T18:01:24Z")
Thanks, JThunder. I was about to say pretty much everything you just said. For the record, the “Asherah” mentioned above as being Jehovah’s consort is actually depicted in the Old Testament as being one of the most prevalent false gods in the Prophets. Also for the record, not all monotheistic religions believe in praying to / requesting things from saints, dead prophets, etc. Judaism is a case in point here. And I’d have to agree with Polycarp’s assertion that if G-d is all-powerful, the creator, etc, then the existence of other gods is illogical. If there were more than one god, that would mean that the sphere of each god’s power would be limited, thus rendering each one not a god. So that can’t be it. So returning to the idea of an all powerful god: Multiple gods are also unnecessary. If G-d can do everything, knows everything, and does everything right, which is the basic premise of monotheistic religions, then why would there have to be other gods? What would they do? Sit around in heaven and be insider commentators for MSNBC? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monotheists-if-one-god-exists-why-cant-there-be-many-gods/218621.md?page=2)