Reasons Why Polytheism is Obviously False
Question:
Asallamu Alaykum.
You said in the past that "I think pure polytheism is such a huge and obvious false belief that with a little deliberation its flaw will become obvious"
Could you briefly discuss some of the reasons why polytheism is clearly false?
Thanks.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum
In the statement that you quoted from me, what I meant by pure polytheism was one of the following beliefs or a combination of them:
A. That there is more than one ultimate creator and therefore there is more than one God
B. That there are gods who are partners to the one and the only creator who we know as God
Once the person appreciates the existence of God, a little deliberation should be enough to also appreciate the flaw of the above statements. The Qur’an says:
لَوْ كانَ فيهِما آلِهَةٌ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتا فَسُبْحانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون
“If there had been in them (heavens and earth) any gods except God, they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder So glory be to God, the Lord of the Throne, above what they attribute” (21:22)
It does not take so much brain to appreciate that life as we know it is a coherent system that works under certain regulations. This would have not been the case if there were more than one God out there because then each of them wanted to create and apply his own system. Therefore statement ‘A’ cannot be correct. On the other hand when a person believes in God that means he believes in the source of all power. Such person has no reason to think that this powerful God needs partners to do some of the job for him. There goes statement ‘B’.
For a clear mind who believes in God, a simple observation of life surrounding us should be enough to appreciate the above points. This is also what the Qur’an refers to in many verses like verses 60 – 64 of the Sura of Naml (27).
The above is for a layman. It is also possible to make similar arguments using philosophical reasoning:
One philosophical reasoning to show the flaw of statement ‘A’ above is as follows:
a. Only a fully perfect being does not need to be created and creates other things
b. A fully perfect being is capable of doing anything
After some simple analysis we can understand that ‘a’ and ‘b’ above lead to the following conclusion:
c. There can only be one fully perfect being and therefore only one creator
The reason for this is obvious. Let’s assume there are two gods out there. This means there are two fully perfect beings out there. This means there are two beings that can do whatever they want. Now, if the first god decides to destroy the second one is this possible? If we say yes, then that means the second god was not really god because he was not able to do what he wanted (here, not being destroyed). If we say no then that means the first god was not really god because he was not able to do what he wanted (here, destroying the other one).
Therefore logically there will be no way to have more than one ultimate god.
Philosophical reasoning to show the flaw of statement ‘B’ above is actually very similar to how a layman may see it (as described above) and can be as follows:
a. God is fully perfect being
b. God needs partners to manage some of the affairs for Him
Obviously statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ cannot be both correct.
So as you see from the above, the flaw of pure polytheism should be obvious to both a layman and an intellectual, when their minds are clear from presumptions, sectarian influences and arrogance.
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Related Topics:- Is God Sadist (Follow Up: Honest Polytheism)?
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May 2013
Asallamu Alaykum.
You said in the past that "I think pure polytheism is such a huge and obvious false belief that with a little deliberation its flaw will become obvious"
Could you briefly discuss some of the reasons why polytheism is clearly false?
Thanks.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum
In the statement that you quoted from me, what I meant by pure polytheism was one of the following beliefs or a combination of them:
A. That there is more than one ultimate creator and therefore there is more than one God
B. That there are gods who are partners to the one and the only creator who we know as God
Once the person appreciates the existence of God, a little deliberation should be enough to also appreciate the flaw of the above statements. The Qur’an says:
لَوْ كانَ فيهِما آلِهَةٌ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتا فَسُبْحانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون
“If there had been in them (heavens and earth) any gods except God, they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder So glory be to God, the Lord of the Throne, above what they attribute” (21:22)
It does not take so much brain to appreciate that life as we know it is a coherent system that works under certain regulations. This would have not been the case if there were more than one God out there because then each of them wanted to create and apply his own system. Therefore statement ‘A’ cannot be correct. On the other hand when a person believes in God that means he believes in the source of all power. Such person has no reason to think that this powerful God needs partners to do some of the job for him. There goes statement ‘B’.
For a clear mind who believes in God, a simple observation of life surrounding us should be enough to appreciate the above points. This is also what the Qur’an refers to in many verses like verses 60 – 64 of the Sura of Naml (27).
The above is for a layman. It is also possible to make similar arguments using philosophical reasoning:
One philosophical reasoning to show the flaw of statement ‘A’ above is as follows:
a. Only a fully perfect being does not need to be created and creates other things
b. A fully perfect being is capable of doing anything
After some simple analysis we can understand that ‘a’ and ‘b’ above lead to the following conclusion:
c. There can only be one fully perfect being and therefore only one creator
The reason for this is obvious. Let’s assume there are two gods out there. This means there are two fully perfect beings out there. This means there are two beings that can do whatever they want. Now, if the first god decides to destroy the second one is this possible? If we say yes, then that means the second god was not really god because he was not able to do what he wanted (here, not being destroyed). If we say no then that means the first god was not really god because he was not able to do what he wanted (here, destroying the other one).
Therefore logically there will be no way to have more than one ultimate god.
Philosophical reasoning to show the flaw of statement ‘B’ above is actually very similar to how a layman may see it (as described above) and can be as follows:
a. God is fully perfect being
b. God needs partners to manage some of the affairs for Him
Obviously statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ cannot be both correct.
So as you see from the above, the flaw of pure polytheism should be obvious to both a layman and an intellectual, when their minds are clear from presumptions, sectarian influences and arrogance.
---------------
Related Topics:- Is God Sadist (Follow Up: Honest Polytheism)?
----------------
May 2013
