Yeah it is written like that to be polite to god-haters,
Inflamatory rhetoric aside, no: it's written like that because that's how it is.
Paladins used to be alignment locked into being lawful good. Now they aren't. Most still are, but it's not actually a requirement any more.
Paladins used to absolutely require a divine proxy in order to channel divine power. Now they don't. Most still do, but it's not a requirement any more.
As KillerRabbit posted, paladins and other individuals who act in ways that fall inside the tenets or domains of a deity's folio are genuinely acknowledged by that deity, and that deity does indeed receive support for their folio by those actions; that is not in question. The paladin in question, however, does not need to acknowledge any deity or pray to any deity, or act overtly in any deity's name, not any more. It seems, perhaps, since the second sundering and the reordering of many aspects of the material and the divine, it is now entirely feasible for mortals with sufficient conviction and dedication - with sufficient faith in what they personally stand for, to tap divine power to fuel their quest; their actions will almost certainly be taken by one deity or another as actions that support them or their folio, but the individual paladin is not affected by this. Indeed, such cases are common enough these days that special note was made of the fact - that deities will often visit and try to sway stand out individuals, and convince them to invoke their name directly.
You can't really get around this without breaking the lore tbh.
You, uh... you realise that what I'm quoting... that stuff that I'm quoting? That's 'the lore'.
It doesn't break the lore; it IS the lore.
Like I said, you don't have to agree with it, and if it doesn't work for you or your table that's fine, don't use it... but it is what it is. If you want to talk about what the present day lore actually says, it's what I'm quoting.
You have an image in your mind about how it all works. That image is perfectly fine - but it is not cognisant with the current statement of the lore.
I really do just want to see the full realms pantheon (all of them) available for choosing, for everyone. I've got a young barbarian who just won't feel like she's got someone watching her back, if she can't give her thanks to Arvoreen in the quiet moments far from the bounds of home.
