In
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
,
monotheism (from
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
"only" and "
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
") is the belief that only one
godGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
in the Abrahamic religions, such as
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
,
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
and
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
, and the
PlatonicNeoplatonism is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, founded by Plotinus and based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists...
concept of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
as put forward by
Pseudo-Dionysius the AreopagitePseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum was pseudonymously ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian convert of St. Paul mentioned in...
. Some forms of
HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
also use this form of religion.
The concept of monotheism has largely been defined in contrast with
polytheisticPolytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own mythologies and rituals...
and
pantheisticPantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God and that the Universe and God are equivalent...
religions, and monotheism tends to overlap with other
UnitaryUnitary may refer to:* In automotive design, unitary construction is another common term for a unibody or monocoque construction* In Christian doctrine, unitarianism is the belief in a "unitary God" as opposed to the concept of the Trinity....
concepts, such as
monismMonism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is...
.
Whereas monotheism is a self-description of religions subsumed under this term, there is no equivalent self-description for polytheist religions: monotheism asserts itself by opposing polytheism, while polytheism does not use the same argumentative device, as it includes a concept of divine unity despite worshipping a plethora of gods.
Ostensibly monotheistic religions may still include concepts of a plurality of the divine. For example, the
TrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
in which God is one being in three personal dimensions (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Additionally, most Christian churches teach Jesus to be
two natures (divine and human)Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ...
, each possessing the full attributes of that nature, without mixture or intermingling of those attributes. This view is not shared by all Christians, notably the Oriental Orthodox (miaphysite) churches. Although Christian theology reserves worship for the Divine, the distinction between worshipping the divine nature of Jesus but not the human nature of Jesus can be difficult for non-Christians (and even Christian laity) to follow. Christians of the
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
tradition
venerateVeneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic Churches, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church...
the Saints, (among them
MaryTheotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
), as human beings who had remarkable qualities, lived their faith in God to the extreme and are believed to
continue to assist in the process of salvation for others.Intercession of the saints is a Christian doctrine common to the vast majority of the world's Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and a number of Reformed Christian communities. Intercessory prayer is a petition made to God on behalf of others...
The concept of Monotheism in Islam and Judaism however, is far more direct where God's oneness is unquestionable and there is no room for the plurality of God.
Origin and development
The word
monotheism is derived from the
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
meaning "single" and meaning "
GodGod, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender. They don't necessarily refer to male gods in specific...
". The English term was first used by
Henry MoreHenry More was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school.-Biography:Henry was born at Grantham and was schooled at The King's School, Grantham...
(1614–1687).
The concept sees a gradual development out of notions of
henotheismHenotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...
(worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities) and
monolatrismMonolatrism or monolatry is the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity...
(the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity). In the
Ancient Near EastThe Ancient Near East refers to early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran , Armenia, Anatolia and the Levant...
, each
cityUru was the Sumerian term for a city or city state, written with the cuneiform ideogram URU .In Akkadian and Hittite orthography, URU became a determinative sign denoting a city, or combined with KUR "land" the kingdom or territory controlled by a city, e.g...
had a local patron deity, such as
ShamashShamash or Šamaš was the common Akkadian name of the sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.-History and meaning:...
at
LarsaLarsa , was an important city of ancient Sumer...
or
SinSin or Nanna was the god of the moon in Mesopotamian mythology. Nanna is a Sumerian deity, the son of Enlil and Ninlil, and became identified with Semitic Sin . The two chief seats of Nanna's/Sin's worship were Ur in the south of Mesopotamia and Harran in the north.- Name :The original meaning of...
at
UrUr was a city in ancient Sumer, located at the site of modern Tell el-Mukayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate....
. The first claims of global supremacy of a specific god date to the Late Bronze Age, with
AkhenatenAkhenaten was known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV . A Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, he ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
's
Great Hymn to the AtenThe Great Hymn to the Aten was found in the tomb of Ay, in the rock tombs at Amarna. It is attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaten himself, and gives us a glimpse of the artistic outpouring of the Amarna period.-Hymn:...
(speculatively connected to
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
by
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud , Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology...
in his
Moses and MonotheismMoses and Monotheism is a book by Sigmund Freud. It was first published in 1939. In it, Freud hypothesizes that Moses was actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was perhaps a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist...
). Currents of monism or monotheism emerge in
Vedic IndiaThe Vedic Period is the period during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of the Indo-Aryans, were being composed. Scholars place the Vedic period in the second and first millennia BCE continuing up to the 6th century BCE based on literary evidence.The associated culture, sometimes referred...
in the same period, with e.g. the
Nasadiya SuktaThe Nasadiya Sukta is the 129th hymn of the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda. It is concerned with cosmology and talks about the origin of the universe.-Metre:...
. Philosophical monotheism and the associated concept of absolute good and evil emerges in
Classical AntiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, notably with
PlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world...
(c.f.
Euthyphro dilemmaThe Euthyphro dilemma is found in Plato's dialogue Euthyphro, in which Socrates asks Euthyphro: "Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"...
), elaborated into the idea of
The OneThe Absolute is the concept of an unconditional reality which transcends limited, conditional, everyday existence. It is often used as an alternate term for a "God" or "the Divine", especially, but by no means exclusively, by those who feel that the term "God" lends itself too easily to...
in
NeoplatonismNeoplatonism is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, founded by Plotinus and based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists...
, later culminating in the doctrines of
ChristologyChristology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person. Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life than with how the human and divine...
in
Early ChristianityEarly Christianity is commonly known as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea in 325....
and finally (by the 7th century) in the
tawhidTawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It holds God is one and unique ....
in
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
.
In Islamic theology, a person who spontaneously "discovers" monotheism is called a
ḥanīf' is an Arabic term that refers to pre-Islamic non-Jewish or non-Christian Arabian monotheists. More specifically, in Islamic thought it refers to the Arabs during the period known as the Jāhiliyya or "Ignorance", who were seen to have rejected Shirk and retained some or all of the true tenets...
, the original
ḥanīf being
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
.
Austrian anthropologist
Wilhelm SchmidtWilhelm Schmidt was an Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist.Wilhelm Schmidt was born in Hörde, Germany in 1868. He entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1890 and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1892...
in the 1910s postulated an
UrmonotheismusUrmonotheismus, the German for "primeval monotheism", is the hypothesis of a monotheistic Urreligion first defended by Austrian anthropologist, Catholic priest and member of the Divine Word Missionaries Wilhelm Schmidt in his Der Ursprung der Gottesidee appearing from 1912, opposing the...
, "original" or "primitive monotheism."
Varieties
Some argue that there are various forms of monotheism, including:
- Henotheism
Henotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...
involves devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Similarly, monolatrismMonolatrism or monolatry is the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity...
is the worship of a single deity independent of the ontological claims regarding that deity.
- Deism
Deism or is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without a need for either faith or organized religion...
posits the existence of a single impersonal god that does not intervene in the world.
- Monistic Theism is the type of monotheism found in Hinduism, encompassing pantheistic and panentheistic monism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is...
, and at the same time the concept of a personal god.
- Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God and that the Universe and God are equivalent...
holds that the universeThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
itself is God. The existence of a transcendent supreme extraneous to nature is denied.
- Panentheism
Panentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists and interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well...
, is a form of monistic monotheism which holds that God is all of existence, containing, but not identical to, the UniverseThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
. The 'one God' is omnipotent and all-pervading, the universe is part of God, and God is both immanentImmanence, derived from the Latin in manere - "to remain within" - refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence, which hold that some divine being or essence manifests in and through all aspects of the material world...
and transcendentIn religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses physical existence and in one form is also independent of it. It is affirmed in the concept of the divine in the major religious traditions, and contrasts with the notion of God, or the Absolute, existing exclusively in the...
.
- Substance monotheism, found in some indigenous African religions, holds that the many gods are different forms of a single underlying substance.
- Trinitarian monotheism
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
is the belief in one God with three distinct subsistences; God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit.
On the surface, monotheism is in contrast with
polytheismPolytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own mythologies and rituals...
, which is the worship of several
deitiesA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
. Polytheism is however reconcilable with Inclusive monotheism, which claims that all deities are just different names or forms of a single god. This approach is common in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
, e.g. in
SmartismSmartism is a denomination of the Hindu religion. The term Smarta refers to adherents who follow the Vedas and Shastras. They mainly follow the Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Adi Shankara...
. Exclusive monotheism, on the other hand, actively opposes polytheism. Monotheism is often contrasted with theistic
dualismDualism denotes a state of two parts. The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two" . The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages.-Moral...
(ditheism). However, in dualistic theologies as that of
GnosticismGnosticism refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demiurge; this being is frequently identified with the...
, the two deities are not of equal rank, and the role of the Gnostic
demiurgeDemiurge in philosophical and religious language is a term for a creator deity, responsible for the creation of the Universe.In the sense of a divine creative principle...
is closer to that of
SatanSatan is an embodiment of antagonism that originates from the Abrahamic religions, being traditionally considered an angel in Judeo-Christian belief, and a Jinn in Islamic belief...
in Christian theology than that of a
diarchDiarchy , from the Greek "δύο", and αρχειν, "to rule," is a form of government in which two diarchs are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they die.The diarchy is...
on equal terms with God (who is represented in pantheistic fashion, as
PleromaPleroma generally refers to the totality of divine powers. The word means fullness from comparable to which means "full", and is used in Christian theological contexts: both in Gnosticism generally, and by Paul of Tarsus in Colossians 2.9.Gnosticism holds that the world is controlled by...
).
In ancient Egypt
Ancient Middle-Eastern religions may have worshipped a single God within a pantheon and the abolition of all others, as in the case of the
AtenAten was the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. He became the deity of the monotheistic — in fact, monistic — religion Atenism of Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaten. The worship of Aten seemed to stop shortly after Akhenaten's death...
cult in the reign of the
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
pharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt. This was true only during the New Kingdom, specifically during the middle of...
AkhenatenAkhenaten was known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV . A Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, he ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
.
IconoclasmIconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking", is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major domestic political or religious changes...
during this pharaoh's rule is considered a chief origin for the subsequent destruction by some groups of idols, holding that no other god before the preferred deity (dually and subtly acknowledging the existence of the other gods, but only as foes to be destroyed for their drawing of attention away from the primary deity).
Other issues such as
Divine Right of KingsThe divine right of kings is a political and religious doctrine of royal absolutism. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God. The king is thus not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate...
may possibly also stem from pharaonic laws on the ruler being the
demigodThe term "demi god", meaning "half god", is used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human. A few examples of demi-gods include the Celtic hero Cúchulainn, Sumerian king Gilgamesh, Ancient-Germanic "woodsman" Ansel and Greek hero Heracles...
or representative of the
CreatorA creator deity is a deity in a creation myth responsible for the creation of the world .In monotheism, the single God is necessarily also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
on Earth. The massive
tombA tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
s in the
Egyptian pyramidsThe Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods....
which aligned with astronomical observations, perhaps exemplify this relationship between the pharaoh and the heavens.
Zoroastrianism
ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster , after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e...
is considered by many to be one of the earliest monotheistic religions. Additionally, the Zoroastrian faith includes characteristics different from those found in purely monotheistic worldviews, including the acknowledgment of subordinate nature-spirits and the aspect of the fire being very holy.
In Zoroaster's revelation,
Ahura MazdaAhura Mazda is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator.The Zoroastrian faith is described by its adherents as Mazdayasna, the worship of Mazda. In the Avesta, "Ahura Mazda is the highest object of worship", the first and most frequently invoked...
is a transcendental and universal
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
, the one uncreated creator (standard appellation) and to whom all worship is ultimately directed. However, Zoroaster also perceives Mazda to be completely good, and that his creation is completely good. In conflict with creation is
anti-creation, evident in the created world as decay and disorder. Since anti-creation is purely destructive it cannot have been created (otherwise it would self-destruct) and hence must - like the Creator himself - be uncreated.
In the
GathasThe Gathas are 17 hymns believed to have been composed by Zarathusthra himself. They are the most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian faith.-Structure and organization:...
, Zoroaster did not acknowledge any divinity other than Ahura Mazda. However, the hymns of Indo-Iranian religious tradition (of which the Gathas are a part) are always addressed to a specific divinity and those closely associated with him, and in this sense the Gathas are not (necessarily) a denial of the other divinities, but the exaltation of a specific one. Although not mentioned by name (in the Gathas,
AhuraAhura is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities.-Etymology:Avestan ahura derives from Indo-Iranian *asura, also attested in an Indian context as RigVedic asura...
Mazda is itself an epithet, not yet a proper name), Zoroaster implicitly acknowledges the existence of other
AhurasAhura is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities.-Etymology:Avestan ahura derives from Indo-Iranian *asura, also attested in an Indian context as RigVedic asura...
"Lords", as in "thou who art the mightiest Ahura and the Wise (
Mazda) One" (
YasnaYasna is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the principal Zoroastrian act of worship at which those verses are recited. The Yasna, or Izeshne, is primarily the name of the ceremony in which the entire book is recited and appropriate...
33.11). In addition to these lords that are "worthy of worship" (
yazataYazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meaning but generally signifies a divinity...
), Zoroaster also refers to the
daevasDaeva is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics....
as the 'wrong' gods, or 'false' gods, or gods 'that should not be worshipped' and whose followers are to be brought onto the path of righteousness. In later Zoroastrian tradition, the
daevas are demons, but this is not yet evident in the prophet's own poetry.
Zoroastrianism thus can be considered monotheistic insofar as all worship is ultimately directed to Ahura Mazda. However, unlike
Zurvanite ZoroastrianismZurvanism is a now-extinct branch of Zoroastrianism that had the divinity Zurvan as its First Principle . Zurvanism is also known as Zurvanite Zoroastrianism.In Zurvanism, Zurvan is the hypostasis of Time...
, neither revealed nor present-day Zoroastrianism is monist. At no time did Zoroastrianism preclude the existence or worship of other divinities, which are today considered to be aspects or evidence of creation and hence of the Creator. The invocation of divinities besides Ahura Mazda is however common practice in Zoroastrian tradition, and is not necessarily either a sign of henotheism (the one extreme interpretation) or the worship of pure abstractions (the other extreme): In the past it was common for an individual, household or clan to adopt a patron divinity and although several attempts have been made to define ancient Zoroastrianism on the evidence of such adoptions - for instance, in inscriptions or in
theophoric namesA theophoric name embeds the name of a god, both invoking and displaying the protection of that deity. Instances of theophoric names embedding Apollo, will be familiar among the many men named Apollonios or Apollodorus in Greek Antiquity.Theophoric names were also exceedingly common in the...
- these are inherently unsuitable for that purpose.
Abrahamic religions
The major source of monotheism in the modern
Western WorldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
is the narrative of the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
, the source of
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
. Judaism may have received influences from various non-biblical religions present in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
and
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
. This can be seen by the
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
's reference to
EgyptianAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
culture in Genesis and the story of Moses, as well as the mention of
HittiteThe Hittites and children of Heth are a people or peoples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are listed in Book of Genesis as second of the eleven Canaanite nations, descended from one Heth...
and Hurrian cultures of Syria in the Genesis story of Abraham. Although, orthodox Jews would dispute this based on the Jewish fundamental that the Torah was received from God on Mount Sinai in 1313 BCE (Hebrew year 2448). References to other cultures are included to understand the specific references of the topic discussed or to give context to the narrative.
In traditional Jewish thought, which provided the basis of the
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
and Islamic religions, monotheism was regarded as its most basic belief.
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
and
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
have traditionally attempted to interpret scripture as exclusively monotheistic whilst
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
adopts Trinitarianism, a more complex form of monotheism, as a result of considering the Holy Spirit to be God, and attributing divinity to
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
, a
JudeaJudea or Judæa is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה,
Standard Yəhuda
Tiberian , "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; ) is the...
n
JewJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
, in the first century AD, defining him as the Son of God. Thus, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit".
Monotheism in the Hebrew Bible
In Isaiah 44:6 YHWH (read Adonay) states: "There is no God Beside Me"
Some scholars interpret the Torah to state that God reveals himself as the only existing god, while some modern interpretations maintain that the
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
takes a position not of monotheism, but of
monolatrismMonolatrism or monolatry is the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity...
or
henotheismHenotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...
. God reveals himself not as the only god, but rather as the god whom Abraham knows (Gen 15:7). In such a respect, the God of Israel is not God alone, but the God who was worshipped by Abraham's clan. In this context, the God of Israel was at a time a type of tribal deity, that although was worshipped alone, did not explicitly exclude the existence of other gods, who were not relevant to them.
There are interpretations of the biblical text which hold that in the early development of Judaism, the possibility of other gods is left an open question, although by this stage Israel claims that their god is greater (Ex 18:11). Traditional views differ on this point. This same subtle shift is shown in 2 Chr 2:5, and could indicate that Israel understood that the god they recognized was God alone, and other gods were therefore false. This would be
Monotheism in the proper sense of the word. By the time of the prophet Isaiah,
Monotheism is solidly and explicitly accepted. "Thus says the , the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god." (Is 44:6) Thus, the development of the people of Israel to a true
Monotheism, appears to be a gradual process, with the exception of Gen 1:1 - which thus casts substantial doubt on the legitimacy of that hypothesis. It is into this context that Christianity emerges, and thus Christianity was from the outset
Monotheistic. (John 1:1)
A strictly literal interpretation of Deuteronomy 4:39 excludes the possibility of henotheism. The verse states: "Know this day, and take it to heart, that
the Tetragrammaton refers to the Hebrew term ', the name of the God depicted in the Bible....
is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is none else." If one were to view that Deuteronomy is a late addition to the Five Books of Moses, this would reflect the later adoption of monotheism. However, if Deuteronomy is taken to be part of the original text, as it generally is among those who use it as scripture, this would indicate that the monotheistic concept existed from the time the Torah was composed.
In the west, the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
has been the
primary sourcePrimary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
describing how and when Monotheism was introduced into the Middle East and the west. As believed by followers of some of the
Abrahamic religionsAbrahamic religions has become a popular and often used designation for the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, emphasizing their common origin and values. For some 1,300 years their histories and thought have been intertwined...
, it teaches that when
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
discovered God (Genesis 12:1-9; 13:14-18; 15 18; and 22), he thus became the world's first monotheist. According to these, until then, in
ancient historyAncient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history in the Old World until the Early Middle Ages in Europe and the Qin Dynasty in China....
all cultures believed in a variety of multiple deities as in
idolatryIdolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent...
, forces and creatures of
natureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
as in
animismAnimism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also...
, or in celestial bodies as in
astrologyAstrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer...
, but did not know the one and only true
godIn Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title. It represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people...
.
However, the Hebrew Bible teaches that, at
CreationCreation according to Genesis is the account of the creation of the world and of the first man and woman as found in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible....
,
Adam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Book of Genesis of the Bible, the first man and woman created by God...
knew God (and so did their descendants) but that over the ages, God and his name were forgotten. This is how one of the most important
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish sages,
MaimonidesMoses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam , was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204....
describes the process in his work the
Mishneh TorahThe Mishneh Torah , subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka , is a code of Jewish religious law by one of the important Jewish authority Maimonides...
:
Jewish view
Judaism is the first and oldest known monotheistic faiths. The best-known Jewish statements of monotheism occur in the
ShemaShema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
prayer, the
Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
and
MaimonidesMoses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam , was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204....
' 13 Principles of faith, Second Principle:
There has historically been disagreement between the Hasidic Jews and the Mitnagdim Jews on various Jewish philosophical issues surrounding certain concepts of monotheism. A similar situation of differing views is seen in modern times among
Dor DaimDor Daim, sometimes known as Dardaim, are adherents of the Dor Deah movement in Judaism. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools...
, students of the Rambam, segments of
Lithuanian JewryLithuanian Jews are Ashkenazi Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ....
, and portions of the Modern Orthodox world toward Jewish communities that are more thoroughly influenced by
LuriaLuria is a surname, and may refer to:* Alexander Luria, Russian neuropsychologist* Isaac Luria, a Jewish mystic in Safed* Roger de Luria, Italian Admiral* Salvador Luria, Italian microbiologist* Rabbi Solomon Luria, an Ashkenazic posek and teacher...
nic Kabbalistic teachings such as Hasidism and large segments of the Sepharadi and Mizrahi communities. This dispute is likely rooted in the differences between what are popularly referred to as the "philosophically inclined" sources and the "kabbalistic sources;" the "philosophic sources" include such Rabbis as
Saadia GaonSaʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon , , was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period....
, Rabenu
Bahya ibn PaqudaBahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Saragossa, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century...
,
Abraham ibn EzraRabbi Abraham ben Meir ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, Islamic Spain , and died c. 1164 ....
, and
MaimonidesMoses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam , was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204....
. The "kabbalistic sources" include Rabbis such as
NahmanidesNahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Nachman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by his acronym Ramban, , was a Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.-Name:...
,
Bahya ben AsherRabbi Bahye ben Asher or Bahye ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the thirteenth century at Saragossa, died 1340, was a 13th century rabbi and scholar of Judaism...
, Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor, and
AzrielAzriel of Gerona, Azriel ben Menahem , , was one of the most important Jewish mystics in the Catalan town of Girona during the thirteenth century when it was an important center of the Kabbalah...
. The
Vilna GaonElijah ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra , , was an exceptional Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic world Jewry of the past few centuries...
is usually granted great respect in modern times by those who side with both views; by the more kabbalistic segments of Judaism he is regarded as a great kabbalist; those who take the other side of the issue regard him as a strict advocate of the people of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
's historical monotheism.
The Shema
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
's earliest
historyJewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly six thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
,
beliefsAlthough Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles, Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a creed that is recognized or accepted by all....
,
lawsThe 613 Mitzvot are statements and principles of law and ethics contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
, and
practicesMinhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
are preserved and taught in the
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
(the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
) which provides a clear textual source for the rise and development of what is named Judaism's
Ethical MonotheismEthical Monotheism is a term used to describe a belief in one God who guides humanity through ethical principles. This can be seen as distinct from monotheistic beliefs which may be based on dogma or doctrines....
which means that:
- (1) There is one God from whom emanates one morality for all humanity. (2) God's primary demand of people is that they act decently toward one another...The God of ethical monotheism is the God first revealed to the world in the Hebrew Bible. Through it, we can establish God's four primary characteristics:
- God is supernatural.
- God is personal.
- God is good.
- God is holy.
- ...in the study of Hebrew history: Israel's monotheism was an ethical monotheism. Dennis Prager
When Moses returned with the
Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
, the second of those stated that "you shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3), right after the first, which affirmed the existence of God. Furthermore, Israelites recite the
Shema YisraelShema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
("Hear O' Israel") which partly says, "Hear, O' Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." Monotheism was and is the central tenet of the Israelite and the
Jewish religionJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
.
The Shema
| Hebrew |
שמע ישראל יי אלהנו יי אחד |
| Common transliteration |
Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad |
| English |
Hear, O Israel! The is our God! The is One! |
The literal word meanings are roughly as follows:
- Shema — 'listen' or 'hear.' The word also implies comprehension.
- Yisrael — 'Israel', in the sense of the people or congregation of Israel
- Adonai — often translated as 'Lord', it is used in place of the Tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton refers to the Hebrew term ', the name of the God depicted in the Bible....
- Eloheinu — 'our God', a plural noun (said to imply majesty rather than plural number) with a pronominal suffix ('our')
- Echad — 'one'
In this case, Elohim is used in the plural as a form of respect and not polytheism.
Gen.1:26 And Elohim said, Let
us make man in
our image, after
our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
ElohimElohim is a Hebrew word which expresses concepts of divinity. It is apparently related to the Hebrew word ēl, though morphologically it consists of the Hebrew word Eloah with a plural suffix...
is morphologically plural in form in Hebrew, but generally takes singular agreement when it refers to the God of Israel (so the verb meaning "said" in this verse is vayyomer
ויאמר with singular inflection, and not vayyomru ויאמרו with plural inflection), and yet in this case the "our" and "us" seems to create a presumption of plurality, though it may just be God talking to angels and not another god.
Judaism, however, insists that the " is One," as in the Shema, and at least two interpretations exist to explain the Torah's use of the plural form. The first is that the plural form "Elohim" is analogous to the royal plural as used in English. The second is that, in order to set an example for human kings, Elohim consulted with his court (the angels, just created) before making a major decision (creating man).
Christian view
Christians believe in the Trinity, an idea which does not conform to monotheistic beliefs. Historically, most Christian churches have taught that the nature of God is a mystery, in the original, technical meaning; something that must be revealed by
special revelationSpecial revelation is a theological term used mainly by evangelical scientists and theologians which refers to the belief that knowledge of God and of spiritual matters can be discovered through supernatural means, such as miracles or the scriptures, a disclosure of God's truth through means other...
rather than deduced through
general revelationGeneral revelation is a term used mainly by evangelical scientists and theologians which refers to a universal aspect of God, of God's knowledge and of spiritual matters, reputedly discovered through natural means, such as observation of nature , philosophy and reasoning, human conscience or...
. Among Early Christians there was considerable debate over the nature of
GodheadGodhead may refer to:*deity*divinity, the quality of being God*Conceptions of God**Godhead , the unknowable aspect of God which lies beyond His actions or emanations...
, with some factions arguing for the deity of Jesus and others calling for a unitarian conception of God. These issues of
ChristologyChristology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person. Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life than with how the human and divine...
were to form one of the main subjects of contention at the First Council of Nicea.
The
First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in
BithyniaBithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
(in present-day
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first
ecumenicalAn ecumenical council is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice...
conference of
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian
doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings" or "instructions", taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
, called the
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent 'general (ecumenical) councils of Bishops' (
SynodA synod is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application...
s) to create statements of belief and
canonsCanon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of doctrinal
orthodoxyThe word orthodox, from Greek orthodoxos "having the right opinion", from orthos + doxa , is typically used to mean adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.The term did not conventionally exist with any degree of formality The word orthodox, from Greek...
— the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of
ChristendomChristendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity. This community numbers in the billions of people of the world population. This community is spread across many different nations and ethnic...
.
The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the
Church of Alexandria over the nature of
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same
substanceOusia is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ; it is analogous to the English participle being, and the Greek ontic...
as
God the FatherIn many monotheist religions, God is given the title and attributions of Father. In the Israelite religion and its closest modern relative, Talmudic Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, law-giver, and protector...
or merely of similar substance. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular
presbyterPresbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
AriusArius was a Berber Christian priest from Alexandria, Egypt in the early fourth century whose teachings, now called Arianism, were deemed heretical by the Church....
, from whom the term
Arian controversyArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250-318 attendees, all but 2
votedVoting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns.- Process of voting :...
against Arius).
Christian orthodox traditions (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical) follow this decision, which was codified in 381 and reached its full development through the work of the
Cappadocian FathersThe Cappadocian Fathers are Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea ; Basil's brother Gregory of Nyssa, bishop of Nyssa ; and a close friend, Gregory Nazianzus, Patriarch of Constantinople...
. They consider God to be a triune entity, called the
TrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
, comprising the three "Persons"
God the FatherIn many monotheist religions, God is given the title and attributions of Father. In the Israelite religion and its closest modern relative, Talmudic Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, law-giver, and protector...
,
God the SonGod the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...
, and God the Holy Spirit, the three of this unity are described as being "of the same substance" . The true nature of an infinite God, however, is beyond definition, and "the word 'person' is but an imperfect expression of the idea and is not Biblical. In common parlance it denotes a separate rational and moral individual, possessed of self-consciousness, and conscious of his identity amid all changes. Experience teaches that where you have a person, you also have a distinct individual essence. Every person is a distinct and separate individual, in whom human nature is individualized. But in God there are no three individuals alongside of, and separate from, one another, but only personal self distinctions within the Divine essence, which is not only generically, but also numerically, one."
Some commentaters contend that the trinity originated in the Pagan
CelticCeltic polytheism, sometimes known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practises of the ancient Celtic peoples of western Europe prior to Christianisation....
tradition, in which many gods and goddesses were
tripartiteA triple deity is a deity associated with the number three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. C. G...
, and that its incorporation into Christianity is a corruption of the original doctrines, similar to the adoption of many Pagan gods and goddesses such as
BrigidIn Irish mythology, Brigit or Brighid was the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She was the wife of Bres of the Fomorians, with whom she had a son, Ruadán...
as Christian Saints. Other critics contend that because of the adoption of a tripartite conception of deity, Christianity is actually a form of
TritheismTritheism is the belief that there are three distinct, powerful gods, who form a triad. Generally three gods are envisaged as having separate powers and separate supreme beings or spheres of influence but working together...
or
PolytheismPolytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own mythologies and rituals...
. This concept dates from the teachings of the Alexandrian Church, which claimed that Jesus, having appeared later in the Bible than his "Father," had to be a secondary, lesser, and therefore "distinct" God. This controversy led to the convention of the
Nicean councilThe First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325 CE...
in 325 CE. For Jews and Muslims, the idea of God as a
trinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
is
hereticalHeretical may refer to:* An act of heresy, behaviour defined as deviant by a particular religion* Heretical , a website run by the far-right activist Simon Sheppard...
- it is considered akin to
polytheismPolytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own mythologies and rituals...
. Christians overwhelmingly assert that monotheism is central to the Christian faith, as the very Nicene Creed (among others) which gives the orthodox Christian definition of the Trinity does begin with: "I believe in one God".
Some groups that are self-identified as Christians eschew orthodox theology; such as the
Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenarian Christian denomination. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism; they report convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual Memorial attendance of over 17 million...
,
MormonismMormonism comprises the religious, institutional, and cultural elements of the early Latter Day Saint movement and its modern denominations deriving from the leadership of Brigham Young...
,
Oneness PentecostalOneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the theological doctrine of Oneness. This movement claims an estimated 24 million adherents today...
s, the
UnitariansUnitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity ....
,
ChristadelphiansChristadelphians are a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century. The name was coined by John Thomas, who was the group's founder...
,
Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)The Church of God General Conference is an Adventist Christian body which is also known as the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith and the Church of God General Conference ...
, Socinian and some of the Radical Reformers (Anabaptists), do not teach the doctrine of the Trinity at all. The
RastafariansThe Rastafari movement is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, new religious movement that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former, and final, Emperor of Ethiopia, as the incarnation of God, called Jah or Jah Rastafari....
, like many Christians, hold that God is both a unity and a trinity, in their case God being Haile Selassie.
Islamic view
The
holy bookReligious texts, also known as scripture, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...
of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
, the
Qur'anThe Qur’an is the central religious text of Islam...
, asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the creation. The indivisibility of God implies the indivisibility of
God'sAllah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God"...
(called Allah in
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
) sovereignty which in turn leads to the conception of universe as a just and coherent moral universe rather than an existential and moral chaos (as in polytheism). Similarly the Qur'an rejects the binary modes of thinking such as the idea of duality of God by arguing that both
good and evilEven though goodness is generally not considered to be real or well-established property under the laws of physics, each person's highly individual concept of the perfect good has profound psychological significance...
generate from God's creative act and that the evil forces have no power to create anything. God in Islam is a universal god rather than a local, tribal or parochial one; an absolute who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.
TawhidTawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It holds God is one and unique ....
constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the
Qur'anThe Qur’an is the central religious text of Islam...
.
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
s believe that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid (Oneness of God).
Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of the Qur’an, a religious book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: الله, Allāh), and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's personally demonstrated examples (collected through narration of his companions in the volumes of Hadith) for implementing them. The word Islam is a homograph, having multiple meanings, and a triliteral of the word salam, which directly translates as peace. Other meanings include submission, or the total surrender of oneself to God (see Islam (term)).[1] An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)".[2][3] The word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Muslims regard Islam as the complete and universal version of the original monotheistic faith revealed to peoples before, including to Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Islamic tradition holds that previous messages have changed and the revelations were distorted.[4]
Religious practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community.[5] Islamic law (Arabic: 'شريعة Šarīʿah) touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from dietary laws and banking to warfare and welfare.
Bahá'í view
The Oneness of God is one of the core teachings of the
Bahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
. Bahá'ís believe that there is one supernatural being, God, who has created all existence. God is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty."
Bahá'ís believe that although people have different concepts of God and his nature, and call him by different names, everyone is speaking of the same entity. God is taught to be a
personal godA Personal god is a deity that is, and can be related to as, a person. The personhood of God is one of the characteristic features of monotheism. In the sacred scriptures of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, God is conceived and described as being a personal creator, with a purpose for the creation...
in that God is conscious of his creation and has a mind, will and purpose. At the same time the Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully understand him or to create a complete and accurate image of him.
Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh , born Mírzá usayn-`Alí Nuri , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith...
teaches that human knowledge of God is limited to those attributes and qualities which are understandable to us, and thus direct knowledge about the essence of God is not possible. Bahá'ís believe, thus, that through daily prayer, meditation, and study of revealed text they can grow closer to God. The
obligatory prayersObligatory Bahá'í prayers are prayers which are to be said daily by Bahá'ís according to a fixed form decreed by Bahá'u'lláh. Prayers in the Bahá'í Faith are reverent words which are addressed to God, and refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and devotional prayer . The act of prayer...
in the Bahá'í Faith involve explicit monotheistic testimony.
Chinese view
The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
since at least the
Shang DynastyThe Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley...
(1766 BC) until the modern period centered on the worship of
ShangdiShangdi is the Supreme God in the original religious system of the Han Chinese people , a term used from the second millennium BC to the present day, as pronounced according to the modern Mandarin dialect...
(literally "Above Sovereign", generally translated as "God") or
HeavenTian is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang Dynasty the Chinese called god Shangdi or Di , and during the Zhou Dynasty Tian "heaven; god" became synonymous with Shangdi...
as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of
ConfucianismConfucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia...
and
TaoismDaoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts that have influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries. The word 道, Tao , means "path" or "way", although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it has taken on more...
and the introduction of
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
and
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
. It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, endowed with personality but no corporeal form. From the writings of
ConfuciusConfucius , lit. "Master Kong," was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese thought and life....
in the Analects
, we find that Confucius himself believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people's lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill in order to teach them of virtues and morality. However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi
. Still, variants such as MohismMohism or Moism was a Chinese philosophy developed by the followers of Mozi , 470 BCE–c.391 BC. It evolved at about the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism and was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period...
approached high monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi
, akin to angels in Western civilization. In MoziMozi , original name Mo Di , was a philosopher who lived in China during the Hundred Schools of Thought period ，born in Tengzhou, Shandong Province. He founded the school of Mohism and argued strongly against Confucianism and Daoism...
's Will of Heaven (天志), he writes:
Worship of Shangdi
and Heaven in ancient China includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Temple of HeavenThe Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing, in Xuanwu District. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest...
in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. The ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty would perform annual sacrificial rituals to Shangdi, usually by slaughtering a completely healthy bull as sacrifice. Although its popularity gradually diminished after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among other religions, its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in later religions in China, including terminology used by early Christians in China.
Hinduism
In
HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
, views are broad and range from
monismMonism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is...
,
pantheismPantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God and that the Universe and God are equivalent...
to
panentheismPanentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists and interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well...
– alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars – to monotheism (also see
Hindu denominationsHinduism comprises numerous sects or denominations. The denominations are roughly comparable to different religions. The main divisions in current Hinduism are Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and Smartism...
).
VaishnavismVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
is one of the earliest implicit manifestations of monotheism in the traditions of Vedas.
Svayam BhagavanSvayam Bhagavan , "The Lord" or Lord Himself, is a Sanskrit theological term. The term refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan within Hinduism....
is a Sanskrit term for the original deity of the Supreme God worshiped across many traditions of the Vaishnavism, the monotheistic absolute deity. This term is often applied to
KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
in some branches of Vaishnavism. Traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, the
Nimbarka SampradayaThe Nimbarka Sampradaya , also known as the Hamsa Sampradāya, Kumāra Sampradāya, ' and Sanakādi Sampradāya, is one of the four authorised Sampradāyas as according to the Padma , one of the eighteen main...
and followers of Swaminarayan and Vallabha considers him to be the source of all avataras, and the source of
VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
himself, or to be the same as
NarayanaNarayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...
. As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan
.
When KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan, it can be understood that this is the belief of
Gaudiya VaishnavismGaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to with Vaishnavism meaning the worship of Vishnu...
, the Vallabha Sampradaya, and the
Nimbarka SampradayaThe Nimbarka Sampradaya , also known as the Hamsa Sampradāya, Kumāra Sampradāya, ' and Sanakādi Sampradāya, is one of the four authorised Sampradāyas as according to the Padma , one of the eighteen main...
, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of
VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam"(1.3.28). A different viewpoint differing from this theological concept is the concept of
KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
as an avatara of
NarayanaNarayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...
or
VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
. It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of the God of
VaishnavismVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
, who is also known as
NarayanaNarayana or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...
,
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in
VaishnavismVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
.
The Rig Veda, the very first book, discusses monotheistic thought. So does Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda.
"The One Truth, sages know by many names" (Rig Veda 1.164.46)
"When at first the unborn sprung into being, He won His own dominion beyond which nothing higher has been in existence" (Atharva Veda 10.7.31)
"There is none to compare with Him. There is no parallel to Him, whose glory, verily, is great." (Yajur Veda 32.3)
The number of auspicious qualities of God are countless, with the following six qualities being the most important:
- Jñāna (Omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously
- Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a monotheistic sense or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought....
), which consists in unchallenged rule over all
- Shakti (Energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible
- Bala (Strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue
- Vīrya (Vigor), which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations
- Tejas (Splendor), which expresses His self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by His spiritual effulgence
The
Nyaya' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
school of Hinduism has made several arguments regarding a monotheistic view. The Naiyanikas have given an argument that such a god can only be one. In the Nyaya Kusumanjali, this is discussed against the proposition of the
Mimamsa', a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas. Its core tenets are ritualism , anti-asceticism and anti-mysticism...
school that let us assume there were many demigods (
devaDeva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a God, angel, spirit, celestial being, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence, and is thus comparable to the Hebrew Elohim...
s) and sages (
rishiA rishi denotes a poet-sage through whom the Vedic hymns flowed, credited also as divine scribes. According to post-Vedic tradition the rishi is a "seer" or "shaman" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness...
s) in the beginning, who wrote the Vedas and created the world. Nyaya says that:
[If they assume such] omniscient beings, those endowed with the various superhuman faculties of assuming infinitesimal size, and so on, and capable of creating everything, then we reply that the law of parsimony bids us assume only one such, namely Him, the adorable Lord. There can be no confidence in a non-eternal and non-omniscient being, and hence it follows that according to the system which rejects God, the tradition of the Veda is simultaneously overthrown; there is no other way open.
In other words, Nyaya says that the polytheist would have to give elaborate proofs for the existence and origin of his several celestial spirits, none of which would be logical, and that it is more logical to assume one eternal, omniscient god.
Sikhism
SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
is a strict monotheistic faith (with some panentheistic features) that arose in northern
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
during the 16th and 17th centuries.
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
s believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the
Guru Granth SahibThe Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is the holy scripture and the final Guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs , compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
, known as the Mool Mantra signifies this:
- Transliteration
Transliteration is the practice of converting a text from one writing system into another in a systematic way.-Definitions:From an information-theoretical point of view, transliteration is a mapping from one system of writing into another, word by word, or ideally letter by letter...
: Ik ōaṅkār(or ikoo) sat nām karatā purakh nirabha'u niravair akāl mūrat ajūnī saibhaṁ gur prasād.
- By Guru's Grace ~
The word
"ੴ" is pronounced
"Ik ōaṅkār" and is comprised to two parts. The first part is simply:
"੧" - This is simply the digit
"1" in Gurmukhi signifying the singularity of the creator. Together the word means:
"There is only one creator god"
It is often said that the 1430 pages of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib are all expansions on the Mool Mantra. Although the Sikhs have many names for God, they all refer to the same supreme being.
The Sikh holy scriptures refer to the One God who pervades the whole of space and is the creator of all beings in the
universeThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
. The following quotation from the
Guru Granth SahibThe Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is the holy scripture and the final Guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs , compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
highlights this point:
Sikhs believe that God has many names, but they call God VāhiGurū. The word
GuruA guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation from unreality to reality, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge...
means teacher in
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
. Sikhs believe that members of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Christianity all worship the same god, and the names
AllahAllah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God"...
,
HariIn Hinduism, Hari is another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "Hari" sometimes refers to a colour, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki ....
,
RaamRAAM, or Raam is a currency issued by Stichting Maharishi Global Financing Research , a charitable, Netherlands foundation. It is also the "global development currency" of the Global Country of World Peace...
,
PaarbrahmIn the Hindu religion, Brahman is the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different...
and Krsna are frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scriptures. The Sikh god is known as the
Akal PurakhAkal Purakh is a Sikh name used for God.Literally it means "a timeless being whom never dies." The first word Akal, literally timeless, immortal, non-temporal, is a term integral to Sikh tradition and philosophy. It is extensively used in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth hymns by Guru...
(which means "the true immortal") or
WaheguruWaheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God, the Supreme Being or the creator of all. It means "The Wonderful Teacher" in the Punjabi language...
, the primal being.
Further reading
- Dever, William G.; (2003). Who Were the Early Israelites?, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.
- Silberman, Neil A.; and colleagues, Simon and Schuster; (2001) The Bible Unearthed New York.
- Whitelam, Keith; (1997). The Invention of Ancient Israel, Routledge, New York.
- Hans Köchler
Hans Köchler is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and president of the International Progress Organization, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations...
, The Concept of Monotheism in Islam and Christianity. Vienna: Braumüller, 1982. ISBN 3-7003-0339-4 (Google Print)
See also
- Abrahamic religion
- Atheism
Atheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist.In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities....
- Deconstruction-and-religion
The term deconstruction-and-religion describes a nontheistic mode of thought that proceeds from a theological and deconstructive framework. In terms of dogmatic theology, deconstruction-and-religion ranges from almost certainly atheistic to out-and-out atheistic.Those that take a deconstructive...
- Demiurg
Demiurg may refer to:* Demiurge, the deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity in some belief systems.* Demiurg , an alien species in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe....
- Bitheism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two" . The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages.-Moral...
- Henotheism
Henotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...
- Hindu views on monotheism
Monotheism in Hinduism is set in the views of the spiritual world are broad and range from monism, pantheism to panentheism, aptly termed as monistic theism and even open monotheism by some scholars, but are not polytheistic as outsiders perceive it to be...
- Kashmir Shaivism
Among the various Hindu philosophies, Kaśmir Śaivism is a school of Śaivism identical with trika shaivism categorized by various scholars as monistic idealism . These descriptors denote a standpoint that Cit - consciousness - is the one reality...
- Monistic theism
- Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God and that the Universe and God are equivalent...
- The People of Monotheism
The People of Monotheism can mean:* a name the Druze use for themselves. Literally, "The People of Unity" or "The Unitarians", from , unity ....
- Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, called gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a pantheon, along with their own mythologies and rituals...
- Post-monotheism
In the philosophy of religion and theology, post-monotheism is a term covering a range of different meanings that nonetheless share concern for the status of faith and religious experience in the modern or post-modern era. There is no one originator for the term...
- Psychology of religion
Psychology of religion is the psychological study of religious experiences, beliefs, and activities.- William James :U.S. psychologist and philosopher William James is regarded by most psychologists of religion as the founder of the field. He served as president of the American Psychological...
- Religion
A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
- Spiritism
Spiritism is a philosophical doctrine, established in France in the mid-nineteenth century.Spiritism, or French spiritualism, is based on books written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec reporting séances in which he observed a series of phenomena that...
- Unitheism
Unitheism has multiple meanings, depending on the speaker. It may refer to:* Pantheism* Panentheism* Theocracy or another social system in which there is only one code of beliefs extant...
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