 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
In our consideration of the foundations of Truth we have said (167) (168) that there are twin helpers in our desire to know Truth as it really is. Those two helpers are logic (true reason) and experience (what happens to us).
In our pursuit of Truth, we have applied logic to the claims of Islam and found that it cannot be true because it contains an inherent and fundamental contradiction within its dogmatic writings. That leaves us with only three other major possibilities in terms of systems of truth: Judaism, Christianity, and the myriad forms of paganism.
Today we want to address the myriad forms of paganism. To do this I want to define the term pagan so that we are all thinking in the same direction: paganism is any form of religious belief that has at its roots a theology of God that is polytheistic. That is to say, paganism is the belief that there are many gods. Atheism is paganism because it makes each individual a god-unto-himself/herself--thus multiplying deities by means of the birth rate. Mormonism is pagan because it teaches that all men who believe and practice its dogma end up being gods themselves--thus multiplying deities by means of proselytizing. Buddhism and most, if not all, of the eastern religions are pagan because they also have many gods and promise that we can become gods ourselves as we are absorbed into the infinite. And there are many other systems which posit the multiplicity of deities.
Are any of these systems true? Experience tells us no, because the multiplicity of gods has experientially meant the multiplicity of competing religions. Competition between religions means competition between the gods of those religions. Logically, competition among gods reduces them to super-sinners, all selfishly striving to master the others. This would ultimately mean that God is Chaos. And, if Chaos is God, the other lesser deities are not gods at all, but just super-human ego-competitors. Experience seems to deny paganism any niche in truth. But ultimately, experience can only tell us after we leave this earthly sphere of experience because we will only know ultimate reality by experience when we have entered into it.
Thus, we are left with logic. And, as we have already said, logic demands the absence of competition among the gods because such competition would mean that none had the final characteristics of deity (infinity of omnipotence, omniscience, love, holiness, and justice, et. al.). Thus, Chaos would be the ultimate character of reality (deity) and that would mean that there is no multiplicity of gods; there is only Chaos.
Thus, in answer to the question, "Can it be that there are many gods?" we must say experience puts the affirmative answer to this question into doubt, and logic seems to nail its coffin shut. Thus paganism is not likely to give us any help in the discovery of what is really true. Something that experience shows to be self-defeating, and that logic casts in the mold of irrationality, isn't likely to give any thinking person any help in knowing the truth.
Where does that leave us?