All I need say is this. 5E SCAG: "In the Forgotten Realms, MOST Paldins, like Clerics, are devoted to a deity". And the same section goes into how deities make devout Warriors into Paladins.
The quote from Ed Greenwood I posted on the last page is pretty clear cut in regards to this. People need to differentiate between rules of a game system and the actual lore of the settings in which that game system is used.
Yeah. It gets tiring when I mention I want a paladin with a deity for roleplaying reasons with all the rules lawyers coming in going "Well the PHB says..." It's like I know I am not saying the rules say you need deities, I am saying that I need one to roleplay my paladin and not having my paladin able to refernce thier god or god's rival when it becomes relevant is off putting. If I make a Paladin of Selune I want to be able to bring it up when Shadowheart reveals she is a cleric of Shar
