Question of the Dei (# 1): How many Gods are there?

In his book “The Faith Explained”, Fr. Leo Trese states:

“…there can be but one God. To speak of two (or more) supreme beings would be a contradiction. The very word “supreme” means “above all others.” If there were two equally powerful gods side by side, then neither of them would be supreme. Neither would have the infinite power which God by his nature must have. The “infinite” power of the one would cancel out the “infinite” power of the other. “

He concluded by quoting St. Athanasius: “To speak of several equally powerful gods is like speaking of several equally powerless gods.”