How Many Gods Do We Need?

Christians, Jews and Moslems all agree that there is only one God. This insistence on a single God contrasts with most other religions of Biblical times, including the Romans who occupied the Holy Land. The Romans were clever enough to realize that although you can conquer a people it´s often more difficult to conquer their religious beliefs. They understood that monotheism was so essential to the Jews that they did not impose their pagan gods on them.

The Jews themselves believed in polytheism until the sixth century BC. There is no room to explain here why they switched to monotheism but it became a bedrock of their faith. An “obsession” in fact according to rabbi Lev Taylor in his excellent article “Why only one God?”*. In turn, it became rooted in our faith because Christianity stems from the religion Jesus was brought up in. We have inherited monotheism from the Jews just as we have absorbed so many of their practices and beliefs. The Church´s commitment to the Old Testament is proof of this although some Catholics – including me - think it should concentrate on the New Testament.

Despite the fact that monotheism is a fundamental part of our Christian faith the Bible contains many references that imply the existence of other gods. For example, "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord,? (Exodus 15:11) and "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods for he delivered his people when they were being oppressed." (Exodus 18:11). Psalm 82 says, "God presides  in the divine council; he gives judgment in the middle of the gods." 

The first of the Ten Commandments states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Obviously, as good Catholics we will do this but the Commandment raises a corollary, i.e. that other gods do exist. Is our God jealous of them or does he fear their harmful influence? Does this mean that God is telling us – or rather the Israelites - to worship Him and Him alone? Is he worried that we might go and worship Baal or some other god or idol? Or is he admitting their existence but feels they are inferior and insisting that we should worship the mightiest of the gods, ie. Him? After all, if Jesus was tempted by Satan – a fallen angel – could we not be tempted by other gods – fallen gods?

In conclusion, we should ask ourselves if there is actually anything wrong with believing in more than one god. Many faiths do. Look at Hinduism, for example. It´s impossible to compute how many gods it has. I´ve seen estimates ranging from six million to 33 million. Others, like the Aztecs and Mayans in Mexico, had over 200 gods. These oversaw every aspect of life and were akin, in some ways, to the Greek and Roman deities.

What about pantheism which identifies with all gods and sees the universe as a manifestation of God? On the other hand, some religions, such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, do not even have a god at all.

At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves whether we need any backup to help us deal with God the Almighty, this dominant figure who asks so much of us. After all, we already have intermediaries between us and Him - Jesus, Mary and the Apostles spring to mind. Many of us also have favorite saints and even make pilgrimages to places associated with them. I´m not saying we should worship other gods but perhaps we should ease up on the insistence on a single distant God and open our minds to other possibilities.

* https://simlev.blog/2020/08/13/why-only-one-god/

© John Brander Fitzpatrick 2025