The increasing pluralization in our society has brought to our attention the many different beliefs people hold about God (see World Religions in Section VI of this notebook and Is Jesus the Only Savior in Section 11). The presence of these other beliefs along with the undermining of confidence in the truth of Christianity (indeed, of the ability to know truth at all) has led many to conclude that there must be different "realities" for different people. Thus, whatever an individual believes about God is true for that individual. Are there, then, many different "Gods"?

Probably most people who think this way aren't thinking in metaphysical terms; they likely haven't thought about whether there can in reality be more than one God "out there." They're thinking in practical terms. If a religious belief "works" for someone, then it is "true" for that person. "True" is equivalent to "works."

Thus, a full response should involve the question of whether different religions can really "work" (whatever that might mean). However, in this seminar we'll just advance the point that there can't be more than one God in reality. There might be more than one person (or object) which people worship. But if the God of the Bible is true, it is impossible that there can also be another "God". The challenge, then, is to "prove" that there can be only one God. To this we now turn our attention.

It is clear, then, that it is inconsistent to claim to be a Christian while believing that other gods are just as real as the God revealed in Scripture.

Apart from being unscriptural, however, it is logically impossible that there could be two (or more) "Gods" (meaning ultimate beings). And it is logically impossible because reality simply doesn't work that way (logic is meaningful because it reflects the way the world is).

If God is absolute in His independence or self-sufficiency-- i.e., if He is in need of nothing from any other source -- and is capable of doing whatever He wills, then nothing else can hinder Him in any way (Is. 44:6; 48:12,43; Rev. 1:8; Ps. 115-3; Dan. 4:35). Also, if He is everywhere present at once (Ps. 139:7-12) in all his fulness, there can't be a "competing" presence there as well. If there were two (or more) "Gods" like this, they would interfere with one another. But Scripture teaches that nothing can interfere with God. There can't be two all- powerful, totally infinite beings. Any other being must be subordinate to Him. Thus, if the God of the Bible exists, there can't be another.