- the answers to estudyassistant.com More than 60 Bible passages mention the three together. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. We are instructed in Scripture: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Thus the pantheist holds that God is an impersonal being that exists in everything. At some point following the origin of humanity, however, various peoples begin to digress from the idea of the one God. Followers of those religions believe in a pantheon or group of gods, like the ancient Greeks who … I guess the founders of Christianity were not the sharpest tools in the shed. "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them." Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8). 1 Corinthians 2:14 - But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But true Christianity has only one God, the true Elohim, who created the heavens and the earth, whom they worship. Genesis 1; Genesis 1:1; John 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; James 2:19; Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; John 10:30; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Romans 1:22-23, Jackson, Wayne. But how can God be both one and three without a contradiction being involved? Some cults, ostensibly associated with Christianity, also argue for certain forms of polytheism. Though Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic (see monotheism), most other religions throughout history have been polytheistic. Mormonism is one of these. However, by the definition of polytheism, Hindu appears polytheistic because there are legions of Gods and Goddesses that describe aspects of Brahma's nature. Polytheism is the belief in many gods with distinct and sometimes several functions. If this doesn't make sense, imagine this. In the ancient Vedas (“sacred” literary compositions) of India, there are hymns directed to these entities. Scientific procedure has been set aside and ignored, in favor of supporting popular ideas, which are contrary to Scripture. Another answer Yes, Christianity is a polytheistic religion - a polytheistic religion very much in denial about its fundamental nature. Colossians 3:5-7 (emphasis added). How many candles are on a Hanukkah menorah? All rights reserved. Monotheism is typically contrasted with polytheism (see below), which is a belief in many gods, and with atheism, which is an absence of any belief in any gods. There is therefore a vast difference between the deity of the Scriptures—the one, eternal, perfect-nature being, manifested in three persons—and the discordant, temporal, factious and fictitious gods that were fabricated in the digressive imaginations of a rebel human family. Note Paul’s brief descriptive in his letter to the saints in Rome: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things (Romans 1:22-23). They're human and not worshiped. Pantheists believe that everything is divine. Christians deny that there is more than one God. Pantheism comes from the roots pan (“everything”) and theos (“God”). Another answer God and Jesus Christ are technically the same person. Again most Christians though are followers of Jesus Christ to the core. God Almighty is addressed as Brahman, Sanatana Purusha, Parmatman, Karta, Ishwar, Bhagwan and Prabhu in Hinduism! The simple fact of the matter is that Christianity fits most every criterion for a polytheistic religion, except that Christians themselves don't call it such. In fact the quotation above is taken a description of Brahman. A short answer is that Christianity is monotheistic. Note, however, that monotheism does not deny the existence of lesser beings (saints, angels, etc.) There are some fundamental propositions that one must understand in approaching the distinction between monotheism (belief in one God) and polytheism (belief in many gods). For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Salam alaikum brothers & sisters. This is true of the pseudo-science of today. Deity is three in terms of distinct personalities—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (cf. I have a wife, she calls me husband (and perhaps a few other things on occasion) My relationship with each of them is unique, but there is only one of me (unless you believe the cell phone company that perpetually sends me bills for accounts I never opened at addresses where I have never lived). The defense put forward, via talk of shamrocks and eggs and water, comes down to saying that Christianity is a monotheism because God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit (and, arguably, Mary, and the angels (including Lucifer) and the saints (including Saint Nicholas)) are all facets of the one "unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality that is the Divine Ground of all Being. And yet, “one” is a singular numeral. Note also that Christianity is not truly monotheistic, as it has the top job shared three ways. Some cults, ostensibly associated with Christianity, also argue for certain forms of polytheism. Christianity is definitely monotheistic if you understand it's theology. Honestly, most Trinitarians are not going around thinking of three individuals in a triad. In Christianity, there is only on God. ©2020. Please support the Dawah by donating on the link below. Deuteronomy 6:4; James 2:19), while using plural pronouns to reflect divine activity (cf. Some are represented on this forum. ), yet they are all aspects of one individual. Hinduism is NOT in any way shape or form polytheistic, that is an ignorant misunderstanding and application of a shallow western lens. When did organ music become associated with baseball? Another answer Deities don't necessarily need to be to be considered deities. Nature of God: pantheistic, polytheistic, or monotheistic? Well, that makes it a polytheistic faith, just like Hinduism. What About the Terms “Godhead” And “Trinity”? This likewise is idolatry, or worship of one's own thoughts and ways above God's thoughts and ways. God made Jesus Christ, a man form of himself, and sent him to the earth in order to teach us the way. They are spiritual entities which influence the physical world, and are therefore gods. Yet, as warned in 1 Timothy 6:20,21, "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babbling, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith." Mormonism is one of these. Isaiah 55:8,9. None of the deities worshiped in other religions are acknowledged; if you worship Buddha, Shiva, Allah, anyone but the Christian God, you by default belong to the Christian Satan. Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. And yes, fosters one personal seeking of enlightenment through a variety of paths. Deism In addition to adopting the beliefs of general monotheism, deists also adopt the belief that the single existing god is personal in nature and transcendent from the created universe. For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. Christians have one God in three persons ; The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Hinduism is both monotheistic and polytheistic! But if you analyze the religion closer, you will get much more questions. Likewise, polytheism comes from the roots poly (“many”) and theos (“God”). Pantheism is the belief God and the universe can be equated; that God is the universe. Christianity is what you get when you take a personality cult that sprung up around a very enlightened and charismatic Jewish teacher, and transplant his progressive version of monotheistic Judaism to the colder climes of Europe, where polytheism was the norm, and where the cycle of the seasons gave rise to a fearful need for propitiatory sacrificial festivals in the winter, along with fertility festivals in the spring. This Supreme Cosmic Spirit is regarded to be eternal, genderless, omnipotent, and omniscient. All three are one and the same, but are around at the same time. Assuming your definition of "soft polytheism" is correct, I would contend that Christianity can be considered both monotheistic and soft-polytheistic. But this is just another way of saying that the material which makes up the universe (matter/energy) always existed; and hence is God. Christians also don't believe saints are deities. 1 Timothy 6:10 (emphasis added). The word “pantheism” is somewhat misleading. It's interesting that one would feel compelled to ridicule the founders of Christianity, and by extension all Christians, as "not the sharpest tools in the shed," but by all means, feel free. Genesis 1 begins with the affirmation that “God created the heavens and the earth.” The term “God” in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim. Christians are monotheistic. Christian theism teaches that the universe was created "ex nihilo," or "out of nothing." Though the most widely known religions today — Christianity, Judaism, and Islam — are all examples of monotheism, there have been plenty of religions that preach polytheism. There are no deities in pantheism. Another answer God has 3 bodies: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Then, there are those, who call themselves "Christian," but place there own "theology," philosophy or reasoning above what God says. Various explanations have been offered for this plurality. The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. Christianity is polytheism with an identity crisis and a serious case of denial. Sociologists claim the man of antiquity first believed in many Gods and then over time came to be believer in one God; polytheism evolved into monotheism. (We have introduced testimony for the anthropological evidence of man’s original monotheism in our little book, Biblical Studies in the Light of Archaeology, pp. What does contingent mean in real estate? Christians regard Christianity as definitely monotheistic. ChristianCourier.com. Too many who call themselves "Christian," have been caught up in worshiping the false science of today, which rejects anything spiritual, especially the Bible, saying that no scientist of worth believes in God or the Bible's position on "scientific" matters (an inaccurate statement). The gods of the ancient pagan world were heterogeneous. Likely the first of the polytheistic gods, the "Earth Mother" is the original deity in almost all areas of the globe—the giver of life and fertility and the carrier of death. As per Advaita Vedanta doctrine of Hinduism God Almighty is one and only one. In the Greek Testament the numeral hen (one) is a neuter gender form, suggesting identity of nature. Before 300 AD Christianity was mostly monotheistic and was not really taken in with the idea that God was in heaven, the Son on earth and the Holy … "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. who might also be called "gods" in a polytheistic system. A lot of pagans are polytheistic and/or pantheistic, but not all of them. Christians deny that there is more than one God. There are philosophers and theologians still researching this and analyzing it. Who is the longest reigning WWE Champion of all time? Yes, but God is "Triune" (manifesting as three coequal persons in one god).I have two children, they call me dad. I have a father and a mother, they called me son. ISSN: 1559-2235. This is not radically dissimilar to the modern tenants of New Age ideology. Another answer: Christians worship one God (references in Romans 3:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:5 and James 2:19, among others) in three persons; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In What Sense is Humanity in the Image of God? Another view They call themselves monotheistic but in fact they have God Satan and Jesus who is the son of god which by there own definition would make him a God as well. Another answer In true Christianity, there is only one God, therefore, is monotheistic. Elohim is a plural term. Though they believe Jesus is the Son of God, they consider him God. : the belief that there is more than one god [h=2]polytheism[/h] noun (Concise Encyclopedia) Belief in many gods. Why don't libraries smell like bookstores? Christianity is monotheistic. So, Christians, who are not wise, nor careful, can be idolatrous, or have false gods in their lives. They see them as more like roles or modes of God, if that's a good way of putting it. This is demonstrated both by the testimony of the Bible and by a study of anthropology. Not only Satan, but all of the angels (and the holy trinity) could be considered to be individual deities. Christianity teaches that God alone is the Highest God: Most of those religions that we call monotheistic today seem to be less emphasized polytheistic religions. They were vicious, warring beings, characterized by utter immorality. They refer to it as Brahman, and it has a lot more in common with current Christian concepts of the One God than anything you'll find in the Old Testament. The original religion of ancient mankind was monotheism, i.e., the worship of the one, true Supreme Being. Christianity claims to be monotheistic but I just can't see it that way. Monism: Defined as the view that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to, or described by, a single concept or system.It is the doctrine that mind and matter are reducible to the same ultimate substance or principle of being. God’s essence and character are believed to be unique and fundamentally different from all other beings that can be considered more or less comparable—e.g., the gods of other religions. From spirituality point of view... as per sacred Bhagavad Gita Hinduism is polytheistic. The gods of the ancient pagan world were heterogeneous. Rather, it's a collection of related religious traditions. Those who believe in a trinity are polytheistic. In 2,310 of these cases the title refers to the true God, while in the remaining 245 instances the word is employed in a variety of “lower senses” (2000, 31). For example, some have suggested that the word is designed to reflect the plenitude of divine majesty (i.e., the vast array of sacred qualities incapable of being expressed by a term of singularity). 5-6.). Which is a fun sentence to apply to pretty much any claim that "Pagans are ___" or … This of course takes "faith" lol. They mated and produced new gods; they brutally fought and destroyed one another. If the polytheistic problem probably has to do with the misconception of saints. Note that “I” and “my father” reflect two personalities. The English Standard Version and Micah 5:2, Defending the Faith with a Broken Sword — Part 3. With reference to the plural form, Girdlestone emphatically stated: “It is clear that the fact of the word Elohim being plural in form does not at all sanction polytheism” (Ibid., 34). To do with the misconception of saints of a shallow western lens one, true Supreme being I 'd that! 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