Is Christianity Polytheistic?

Atheists consider no beings as being a god. Does that mean that atheists think everyone is an atheist?The problem with this thread is that one has to take each individual religion according to its own definition of a god, even though those definitions are inconsistent between them. Otherwise absurd results obtain. Greeks were polytheistic because they believed in multiple gods as they conceived of gods. Muslims, as I understand Islam, are monotheistic as they believe in one god.Christians are different. They believe in a so-called "trinity," a sort of 3 in 1 god. This concept, of course, is nonsensical, but there can be no doubt that they believe that Yahweh ... YHWH... Houyhnhnm.... whatever, is god, Jesus is god and the holy spirit is god, they are polytheistic, whatever logical (or illogical) gymnastics they wish to engage in notwithstanding.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

Because, according to the Christian definition, Satan is not a god. Since this thread is about Christianity as a polytheistic religion, the only relevant question is whether Satan is a god in Christianity.If you want to argue that Christianity is being internally inconsistent by saying Jesus et. al. are god(s) but Satan isn't, I'd listen to your argument. But if you are instead arguing that Satan is in fact a god under Christian doctrine, I'd need to see a pretty powerful body of evidence to support that claim, because it's inconsistent with my understanding of Christianity.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

I would say that the answer depends on what qualities you ascribe to pencils. If you simply refer to a garden variety pencil with no qualities beyond that associated with the typical writing utensil, I would say no, you are not a theist, you are a nut. A tricky question. I think there is some set of minimum criteria that a being needs to meet to be considered a god. I'm far from a comparative religion expert, so I'm hardly the person to put forth a comprehensive definition, but on first glance, it at least needs to be some kind of self-aware entity with supernatural powers. This rules out a normal pencil.But obviously beyond any minimum set of criteria, different religions have different, more detailed definitions, and the definition of god in Christianity does not include Satan. Thus, Satan cannot be an example of a god showing that Christianity is polytheistic, unless you wish to quarrel with my proposition that the question must be answered by looking at the definition that the given religion uses.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

What is the definition of god in Christianity?Does Satan fit that definition? If not, he's not a Christian god.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

Well then, let's discuss it. Father, son and holy ghost equals three. No amount of mental gymnastics or apologetics can change that simple fact. You are a polytheist, Sir!

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

The last refuge of those who don't understand it themselves.I'd venture to guess that Thomas Jefferson, a reasonably intelligent person, spent a great deal of time and good will studying it before he concluded...

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

I suppose if you want to call it equivocating to acknowledge that different religions have different definitions than yours does, and understand that they identify types of beings as gods that you don't, then you can call it equivocating.{AbE} Look at it this way.To you, Mom is the person who gave birth to you. She didn't give birth to me. Does that mean I don't have a mom?Edited by subbie, : As noted

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

And the answer to that argument is that if there were a real god behind all those myriad beliefs, there would be more agreement in the various religions than there is. I have no doubt that there are some Christians who do that. I also have no doubt that there are some who do not. So what? Inconsistency from a believer. Quelle surprise.Edited by subbie, : Tyop

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

Right.Except that it doesn't. It also recognizes Jesus and the holy spirit as god as well.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

You define Mom to be the woman who gave birth to you. Your mom didn't give birth to me. Therefore I don't have a mom.You must either accept this reasoning, or equivocate.Proceed.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

Now you're equivocating. I'm not talking about how you define "mums." I'm talking about how you define "Mum." Your Mum. You've ignored the capitalization I used. An initial capital letter denotes a proper name, the person you refer to as "Mum."In doing this, you're missing the point of my analogy.All religions use the same definition of "god." It's who they say it is. I'm not aware of any religion that lays down a general working definition of what a god is then goes searching for beings that meet that definition. They all define god(s) with a list of beings that they consider god. In the same way, you define "Mum" as the person who gave birth to you, but understand that other people have a different definition specific to themselves.However, any thinking person understands that there are different religions that have different lists. They can then generalize from the different lists and create a generic description that all the different gods meet. Thus, they understand that there are myriad different beings that different religions regard as god, and thus those adherents are not atheist, but at the same time deny that in fact the beings that other religions recognize as god are true gods.But that is not nearly the same thing as equivocation. It is instead recognizing that different religions use different lists of god(s).

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

So when Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do," he was talking to himself, pleading with himself, trying to talk himself into forgiving those who crucified him?Sure, makes perfect sense.{AbE} Ah. So then Jesus wasn't in human form. Or, are all three human?Edited by subbie, : As noted

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

I can't say I'm particularly familiar with Hinduism, but isn't its definition exactly as developed as any other religion's? It's a list of beings that Hindus call gods. How is that any more or less well developed than any other religion's list?

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

You may take solace in the fact that you are not the first person to miss sarcasm on the internet.

quote:

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When you believe in things that you don't understand then you suffer.

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--Stevie WonderYou don't fully understand it. Do you even partially understand it? Is there any part of it that makes any sense at all? Or is it more accurate to say that you simply accept it without questioning it at all just because it makes you feel happy inside as long as you don't ask too many questions? Sorry, I have no idea what you are saying.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

Wrong.You keep acting as if religions create a god definition then look for beings that fit it. They don't. All religions define their gods by making lists of those they consider god. Satan isn't in Christianity's list. That's why Satan isn't a god in Christianity.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas JeffersonFor we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack ObamaWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- PhatIt has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate