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Faith Forum: One God, many Gods

or none at all?
Rajan Zed
Published 11:43 a.m. PT Aug. 17, 2017

Evolutionary biologist and noted atheist

Richard Dawkins indicates that God is a
delusion — specifically, a "pernicious
delusion."

The Rig-Veda, the oldest existing scripture of

mankind, points out that truth is one, and men
call it by various names. Lord Krishna tells us
in the ancient Bhagavad-Gita: "I am the source
from which the gods come."

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Major world religions state to believe in one

God; even those with multiple deities stress
that those were just manifestations of (or point
to) a single God.

Some equate God to a universal soul. Some

note that such a powerful entity cannot have a
material existence, while others say that we
humans are not able to fully comprehend God
and we can only make approximate
conclusions about God.

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Many will argue that their God is the real one,

and the god or gods worshipped by other
groups were imagined or dreamt-up versions.

We asked our panel of religious leaders of the

region the following question: Is there one God
or multiple Gods or no God?

Here is what they have to say:

ONE GOD
Stephen R. Karcher, St. Anthony Greek
Orthodox Church presiding priest

Christianity has always been monotheistic,

meaning that we believe in one God. But our
belief in God’s oneness refers specifically to his
nature, or essence. Jesus taught and showed
that the Divine Nature exists in three Divine
Persons. Throughout his entire ministry,
beginning at his baptism, Jesus demonstrated
his own oneness with the Father while also
introducing us to the Holy Spirit.

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In other words, God is three distinct persons

who are united in one nature. Not simply a
divine monad, the God who exists forever and
is unchanging exists as a triad, or Trinity, in a
communion of love. Therefore, the evangelist
John can say that "God is love;" that is, he
creates out of love, not in order to have
something to love, but because his very
existence is love. In this way, Christianity
differs from other monotheistic religions that
envision god only as a heavenly monad.

ONE SUPREME GOD

Bradley S. Corbin, Baha’i Faith teacher

Bradley Corbin RGJ File

There is one God, with possible subordinate

divas, gods or spiritual powers. “Man all over
the world is seeking for God. All that exists is
God; but the Reality of Divinity is holy above
all understanding. The pictures of Divinity that
come to our mind are the product of our fancy;
they exist in the realm of our imagination”
(Abdu’l-Baha). This insight warns us that in
attempting to know the unknowable God, our
imagination may conceive realities that lead us
astray from the Truth of one Creator.

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Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha’i

Faith teach monotheism. “We believe in that
which hath been revealed unto us and revealed
unto you; our God and your God is One ...”
(Quran 29:46). “Bear thou witness in thine
inmost heart unto this testimony which God
hath Himself and for Himself pronounced, that
there is none other God but Him …”
(Baha’u’llah).

THREE IN ONE
Bryan J. Smith, co-lead pastor, Summit
Christian Church, Sparks

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Within Christianity, the term "Trinity" is used

to describe the belief of God existing in three
Persons. This theological framework for
understanding can be difficult to comprehend,
yet not any less true.

For the Jewish authors of the Bible there was

little angst over the singular and plural nature
of God. In Genesis 1:1, God is the singular
creator of all. However, in Genesis 1:26 God
said, “Let us make man in our image”
(emphasis mine). Although mysterious, the
Jewish authors never specifically addressed the
workings of the plural nature of God.

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There is one God in three Persons: God the

Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy
Spirit. All three are separate, distinct and
possessing specific roles while at the same time
one God. This moves the sacrifice of Jesus
away from a criminal dying on a cross to God
sacrificing himself for humanity. What a
powerful act of love.

A MINORITY VIEW
Kenneth G. Lucey, UNR philosophy/religion
professor

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The only intellectually responsible answer to

the question posed is that it depends upon
what you mean by "God." The question
assumes everyone means the same thing. This
is simply not true.

The answer of about 75 percent of professional

philosophers is that no gods exist, and the
primary reason given is the failure of the free-
will defense to answer the problem posed by
natural evil. This position is often
supplemented by reflections upon what is
called “the hiddenness of God”. This is the
moral issue posed by the absence of God’s
active involvement during the Holocaust.

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A philosophical response to the majority

(atheist) and the minority (theist) is that of the
agnostic, who differs in denying knowledge of
both God’s existence and nonexistence.
Excellent arguments exist for the rationality of
the agnostic’s position. Of course, within
humanity the positions of the philosophers are
a tiny proportion of human thinking generally.

ONE CREATOR; ONE GOD

Sherif A. Elfass, Northern Nevada Muslim
Community president

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Human logic recognizes the fact that to get

anything precisely done, the task must be led
by only one person. For example, there is only
one driver for any vehicle. The Quran calls
upon the people to reflect on this, saying if
there were multiple gods in the heavens and in
the earth, it would have been chaos and
disarray.

The order of the heavens and the earth is a sign

of God’s Oneness (Quran 21:22). Thus,
Muslims believe in one God — the God who
created the universe and has power over
everything within it. He is unique and exalted.
He is above everything He creates. Hence, He
is the one and the only one deserving of any
worship. He is the One who has been sending
prophets and messengers to guide His creation
to Him. Belief in one God, monotheism, is the
core and the most fundamental concept in
Islam.

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I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD …

Robert W. Chorey, Roman Catholic Diocese of
Reno curia moderator

Christians believe in one God. This is core to

our faith, which we inherited from our Jewish
roots

Christians believe, through the revelation of

Jesus Christ, that this one God is a trinity of
three “persons”. We need to be cautious in our
understanding of “person.” The early
theologians of the Church understood the
word differently that we do in the 21st century.

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Christians believe this One and Three God

transcends all; God is a mystery. This means in
our reality, what we say of God, we must
recognize that it will always fail to encompass
all that God is. This utterly transcendent God
became human, so that we humans can know
God and become as God ourselves. Jesus Christ
is the Son of God, the fullness of revelation of
God.

Our lives now open us to the mystery of God,

which helps us to transcend as well.

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YES, THAT IS TRUE

Matthew T. Fisher, Reno Buddhist Center
resident priest

Buddhism is nontheistic. While the Buddha

interacted with the Devas (gods) of his time,
they were not important to his process. Indeed
the Gods often attended the Buddha’s Dharma
talks. They even asked questions of the
Buddha.

We recognize six realms of existence from the

hell realm to the heavenly realm of gods. All
these beings are trapped in the same cycle of
re-existence that all of us are. The Buddha
showed a way out of this cycle. Many interpret
these realms as psychological states that
sentient beings transition in and out of — a
byproduct of sentience. God and gods in this
view are externalizations of our internal
experience. Sometimes we are fantastically
powerful (godlike) and sometimes tortured. To
find the way out of this roller coaster is to find
equanimity, peace and joy in all things. The
Buddha's enlightenment is available to all.

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THREE MEMBERS OF GODHEAD ARE

GODS
Ryan J. Earl, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints assistant area public affairs
director

We believe that there are three separate

persons in the Godhead — the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost — each of whom is a God.
(See the entry for "God" on www.lds.org's Bible
Dictionary.)

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When one speaks of God, it is generally and

appropriately the Father who is referred to;
that is, Elohim, the Supreme Governor of the
universe and the Father of mankind. The
personage known as Jehovah in Old Testament
times is the Son, known as Jesus Christ, and
who is also a God. Jesus works under the
direction of the Father and is in complete
harmony with Him. Many of the things that the
scripture says were done by God were actually
done by the Lord (Jesus), including the
creation of heaven and earth (John 1:3, 10). As
Paul said, God created all things by Christ
Jesus (Ephesians 3:9). The Holy Ghost as a
member of the Godhead is also a God.

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ONE GOD, TWO POWERS

Brian E. Melendez, American Indian
spirituality scholar

For tribal cultures, the Sun and the Moon, the

Man and the Woman in the house in the sky,
existing together in their own balance, is our
God. Two powers coalescing into one. One
God, Two God, Red God, Blue God … is my
final answer.

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