That depends on the varieties, and how close they are. Crowding will stunt the plants, and can encourage leave diseases. It might be better to thin to the strongest plants.

I generally over-sow beans when direct seeding; it is a good way to help the beans break through the soil surface, which helps to ensure a good stand. It also allows me to select only the strongest plants for seed production.

Thanks zeedman,
Actually, they all look great. But they are only about 7" tall. I hadn't thought of over-seeding as a way to help them break through the soil. That's a good idea. I was afraid these wouldn't break through, as the soil seems to get so darned hard, once I water it. (we've had very little rain....."real" rain seems to cause less compaction, even when I try to be gentle with the hose).
I guess you could say I hate cutting anything out! Especially when they all look so good, but I imagine the stress of overcrowding might not show up until later.
I don't want to disturb the soil by pulling, so is it okay to cut certain ones down to the soil level?

I hate thinning too, but it is sometimes necessary. Rather than pull the culls out - which would disturb the roots of the remaining plants - I just cut them off at the soil line.

This year, I am planting much of my older seed stock, so I can replace my stores with fresh seed. Since I don't know what to expect for germination rates for the older seed, I over sow generously. The worst-case scenario is that they all come up, in which case I have to thin ruthlessly.

Happily, that has been the case so far. 6-year-old pea seed had nearly 100% germination, as did 5-year-old chickpeas.

Thanks zeedman.
I have pretty good luck with old seed too. If they're really old, sometimes I'll just see how many presprout in a dish inside first.
Well, I think I'll have to get the scissors out there in the next couple of days. I hope I can do it. haha