There Are The Key Differences Between Monotheism And Polytheism

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Learning Journal
University of the People
PHIL 1402: Introduction to Philosophy
Instructor: Luis Teixeira
26 April 2023

1. What are the key differences between monotheism and polytheism?
Monotheism and polytheism are two different approaches to the concept of God or gods. Monotheism refers to the belief in a single, all-powerful deity, while polytheism refers to the belief in many gods and goddesses.
One of the key differences between monotheism and polytheism is the nature of God or gods. In mon-otheism, God is typically viewed as a transcendent, all-knowing, and all-powerful being who created and sustains the universe. In polytheism, gods and goddesses are often viewed as having specific roles and responsibilities in the world, …show more content…

The main argument would be the lack of empirical evidence for their existence. While many people believe in gods and offer arguments for their existence, there is no empirical evidence to support these claims. In the absence of empirical evidence, some individ-uals and schools of thought argue that it is more reasonable to conclude that there are no gods.
2. Do you think there are good arguments explaining why a purely good God would allow bad things to happen to good people?
The problem of evil is one of the most significant challenges to the belief in a purely good God. The argument goes that if God is all-powerful and all-good, then He should be able and willing to prevent evil and suffering in the world. However, since evil and suffering do exist, either God is not all-powerful, or He is not all-good, or He simply does not exist (Tooley 2021).
There are different ways to approach this problem. One possible response is to argue that God allows evil and suffering for some greater good. This is the so-called "greater good" theodicy. The idea is that God permits evil and suffering in the world because it serves a higher purpose, such as the pro-motion of moral character or the development of virtues like compassion and …show more content…

His belief in God was based on reason and observation, rather than revelation or tradi-tion. Paine also believed in the immortality of the soul, but rejected the idea of eternal damnation or reward. As a humanist, he emphasized the importance of reason, science, and democracy, as well as the fundamental dignity and worth of all human beings. While humanism is generally compatible with religious beliefs that align with humanist values, conflicts may arise when religious beliefs in-volve supernatural claims or dogma that conflict with reason and