Question for those of Monotheistic faith...

[Solon]

What are your beliefs concerning other Gods and Goddesses? Is it a strict Monotheism, as in no other Gods exist? Or is it that you only worship one God, but leave the possibility open?

[autorank]

1. As a nominal Episcopalian...

I'm proud to say that we had a "Committee God" or a "Troika." There was the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They would meet periodically and form a union from which the divine flowed in all directions, particularly the shared chalice of communion wine for the grateful congregants.

Nobody could explain exactly how this worked but I always liked it. I was partial to the Holy Ghost (aka Holy Spirit). In fact, in my California Episcopal Church, we had a great time (in the '60's): pro civil rights; open minded; the original Book of Common Prayer (greatest English prose ever); and lots of really good looking women dressed in black (I was a pre teen and teen then). Kept me coming back.

Must say I'm proud of my old church with their correct answer to the question "What would Jesus do about ordaining gay priests?"

[RUDUing2]

6. are you a woman by any chance? cause the Holy Spirit is considered to

be the feminine aspect of the Godhead...

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Who said that?

It's a new one on me.

But it does bring up curious possibilities for what the third one in the Trinity might be.

[InvisibleBallots]

21. the Holy Spirit is often thought to be similar to "Sophia"

the Gnostic anthropomorhization of Wisdom. Another interpretation is that the Holy Spirit in in fact, the spiritual version of Mary the Mother of God.

[Maat]

2. For me, the second one.

In my faith, God is generally seen as an energy that is within us all, outside of us, and within everything. It connects us all. So, why couldn't 'One Energy' manifest itself as many 'Gods' and 'Goddesses.' Actually, my pastor would say we are all Gods and Goddesses (including those that seem to another to specifically be Gods and Goddesses).

The One Energy is always available to us all, and what connects us all.

BTW, I'm a member of the Church of Religious Science (liberal and inclusive, like Unitarian-Universalist, and Unity, UCC). Christ is a 'consciousness' to us, much like Buddha (they could be construed as very enlightened Master Teachers, too)(the name comes from believing that Science and Religion are compatible).

So, I not only 'leave the possibility open,' I believe that each individual can see the way he or she wants to (and I'll support that).

[sans qualia]

19. That sounds kinda like Thelemic cosmology

The idea that there's the one ultimate, absolute, impersonal big-G God which is composed of all beings, some of whom might be superior to others in intelligence or ability to effect change, but none of whom possess any singular "divine" quality that separates them from other non-Gods. The personal beings whom we worship as "gods" might be bigger and better than us, but they aren't really qualitatively different, since we're all just little bits and pieces of the big picture. Is that right, or did I completely misinterpret what you said?

[roguevalley]

3. non-demoninational but I believe that there are many names for

God and that there are many more representations for God. Mithras, Isis, all of them going back to the Great Goddess are representations of the idea of God and his/her existence. Christianity may have been the bully boy that won, but God and thoughts/ideas of God have been here and will be here in all different forms way after that dies out. Wicca and paganism are also valid. For any one religion to say otherwise is b.s. in my book.

[PsychoDad]

4. There is only one.

Whatever we call it, whatever we pray to, There is only one , eternal and absolute.

Unlike some who might say that God doesn't hear the prayers of group X (insert whoever here)ie: Fallwell and Robertson,et al, I would say, God hears and answers everybody's prayers.

[RUDUing2]

5. my personal belief is that there is only one God and all the other

Gods/Goddesses/Dieties, etc are simply manifestations and human namings of characteristics/manifestations of that one God...

If you think about it all the myriad of Gods are simply different parts of a whole...in a monotheistic religion they are just all accepted as that...in multitheistic religions they simply consider the separate parts/personalities as individual dieties...

I don't personally see how there is any real conflict except for made up human ones....

[JanMichael]

16. How unbelievably arrogant.

"I don't personally see how there is any real conflict except for made up human ones...."

Nice.

[JerseygirlCT]

20. I don't understand what you found arrogant there

truly. Can you enlighten me?

I thought the poster was saying that the conflicts are the result of human fallibility and our need to separate into "groups" -- us and them. Did you read that differently?

[RUDUing2]

23. You got it right..but I guess if someone wants to take offense at

something they can always find a way...

[GOPBasher]

7. I think of God as being a spirit that connects us all.

It's like the Holy Spirit in Christianity or the Brahman in Hinduism. Also, I'm an Episcopalian and I believe in the Trinity. But I think all religions are valid and other people/cultures have their own way of connecting to this One Spirit.

[supernova]

8. For me, God is all and in all

There is one enity, lately called "God" but there are a multiplicity of names for him or her and an almost infinite number of representations, including Gods and Goddesses.

I think of this analogy:

God is a diamond and we humans only see some facets of that diamond during our lifetime.

[JerseygirlCT]

9. I believe there to be one God

but I believe that many people worship God in differing ways. There's only one, but we see God differently. That same entity that Christians see in a trinity can be seen in nature, or in the Hindu pantheon.

I think the differences are human; God just is.

[Ron Green]

17. I like the way you said that. Our cultural experiences determine how we

will see, and what we will call, the One. (And some people deny that it exists.) And so it must always be.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Well, God cannot be defined...

or fully understood by us, so there is proably only one God but there are many manifestations of that one God.

Kind of like the blind men and the elephant.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. I think God is everything,

and what people call God/Goddess are their concepts of All That Is. As such, I honor and respect all aspects of the Divine.

[More Than A Feeling]

13. One God, many aspects

I believe in the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. However, I do not believe that God is limited in the roles he/she/it (hereafter referred to as he for convenience) can play by my beliefs. For other people in other places and other times, he could be anything and everything.

[Brentos]

14. 2 Thoughts

I believe God may be seen through a prism in different lands/times/etc., allowing us to see many gods where there is one God.

The other point is God always says (paraphrase)"Hold no Gods above me". He doesn't really say "There are no other gods". I believe, though, this is partially a linguistic argument. I differentiate God (Yahweh) and gods (beings of greater than human power). I believe God may have created other beings of great power, (think angels, Seraphim, etc.) and maybe some of these have been worshipped as gods? I don't know how true it is, but it is fun the theorize.

Thanks,

-Brent

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. I believe that God is One, but

that some religious traditions choose to personify different aspects of God as separate deities.

[nemo137]

22. I'd agree, and then add that some traditions also assign human

aspects that are similar to the divine aspects; for example, Hepheastus (fire, forge, creativity, metalworking) being lame (in a Homeric society where you needed legs to plow, a lame man with strong arms would naturally become a blacksmith).

[catbert836]

18. One God, many incarnations

kind of a cross between monotheism and henotheism. Yes, there is one God, but he may appear in many different forms and in many different names. I'm not sure if these other gods are seperate beings or not.

[RUDUing2]

24. you may find these interesting

http://www.livingstonemusic.net/godmen.htm

http://www.rationalchristianity.net/copycat.html

http://www.newagepointofinfinity.com/NAU/16saviors.htm

[JVS]

25. Strict Monotheism

There is only one. However there are multiple religions that acknowledge that one God. Judaism, Islam and Christianity all acknowledge the God of Abraham as their God. Differences lie in beliefs concerning actions after the time of Abraham.

Many here at DU like to refer to "Sky-god" as a description of the God of Abraham

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

26. One true living God,

the rest are idols. You can make anything into a false god (i.e. money, power, the Republican Party), but there is only one true, authentic, living God.

[Roaming]

27. That's my belief too -- one God manifested in three distinct

persons. All others are not just "empty" idols but could also be very real spiritual entities which the Bible labels "demons" or fallen angels.

[youngred]

28. I believe in the omnipotent singular God

Like I don't know for sure that the God I believe in is there I wouldn't persume to say there aren't multiple Gods that others can worship though.