Monotheism & Polytheism

[metis]

Here's something I read to kick-start my morning meditation two days ago: Whoever excludes others will find himself excluded in turn. Those who affirm that their God is the only God are doing something dangerous and pernicious because they are on their way to imposing their beliefs on others by any means possible. -- "The Path To Tranquility: Daily Wisdom" by the Dalai Lama, p. 393.

Whaddya think?

 

[illykitty]

I don't view my beliefs as being the correct ones nor to be imposed. It's my perspective, how I view divinity. Someone else has a different understanding and that's fine.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I agree to each their own. Myself, I view Christianity as polytheist. 1+1+1= 1?

 

[Sees]

I think it is important to understand it's impact on tolerance and treating others as genuine.

The Truth is abstract, transcendent concept but we live with The Truths. Life is beautiful, abundant multiple expressions of reality. People confuse that the Whole = One.

The Book with The True, Right, Best, Perfect interpretation is never actualized outside of concept. We have mutiple great books with great truths, great interpretations. The same with religion, culture, music, all manners of beings, comedy, heroic actions.

Insisting and forcing absolute, transcendent, exaggeration into the picture causes endless confusion because such a thing doesn't live outside of concept and even there can't be fulfilled or understood.

What you get is people saying come get this, come see this, you must have this! When they can't even possibly touch it or see it or taste it.

There is a real world out there, and super exaggerated absolutes don't live there.

Most of the "ancients" understood the reality of Multiplicity and later on you have some coming to reveal - which is essentially to narrow, confine, restrict.

Reverend Rick - The interesting thing with The Trinity is it is the beginning of multiplicity not one or two. This is why 3 was sacred, important all over the world in many traditions and cultures. Expressing the truth of reality and the world, cosmos, galaxies as they are...

 

[outhouse]

I agree to each their own. Myself, I view Christianity as polytheist. 1+1+1= 1?

Agreed.


Even Judaism today can be polytheistic in my opinion, since much of the OT was originally polytheistic with certain cultures writing about different deity then Yahweh, only to be redacted to monotheism at a much later date.

The traditions behind El are still present, as the redactors could not burry him completely in literature.


Not many define the concept of "god" the same, thus people worship many different versions of god each god being different from the next.

 

[metis]

What HHDL wrote in the OP is borne out in cross-cultural studies, namely that monotheistic societies tend to be more likely embroiled in religious conflict than monotheistic ones.

Why this appears to be the case is that if one's society is more polytheistic, there's a greater acceptance of diversity since polytheism by nature in more diverse when it comes to beliefs. If I believe in Gods A, B, and C, and you believe in Gods D,E, and F, there's not likely to be much conflict. But even if we both believe in A,B, and C, because we assume diversity of opinions, then we are less likely to conflict with one another.

OTOH, if we believe in only one God, and we disagree with what that God wants us to believe or do, there's a greater likelihood of conflict because the "my way or the highway" approach so often kicks in.

OK, for those of you now interested in converting and becoming polytheistic, I have applications for that, so you can ask me for one of more applications, and that'll be $50 for each, although we have a discount this week for only $49.95.

 

[ions]

Here's another possible view. God is fundamentally one, but has infinite names and expansions. This is inclusive, yet maintains authentically monotheistic.

 

[Contemplative Cat]

Here's something I read to kick-start my morning meditation two days ago: Whoever excludes others will find himself excluded in turn. Those who affirm that their God is the only God are doing something dangerous and pernicious because they are on their way to imposing their beliefs on others by any means possible. -- "The Path To Tranquility: Daily Wisdom" by the Dalai Lama, p. 393.

Whaddya think?

Reason and logic win.
If all the gods exist, it still wouldn't matter because they are themselves caught in pairs of opposites, like and dislike. Just really powerful beings.
Nature encompasses them all, in Hinduism they call Nature Shakti, and in Buddhism they. Call it Buddha nature. This thing, being the source of all gods, men, and animals, it would be the "one true God" that Moses and Muhammad speak of.

This is why monotheism is considered superior to polytheism, because the lesser gods are hardly worth calling God. They are like angels, powerful, but still caught in samsara.

 

[Contemplative Cat]

Here's another possible view. God is fundamentally one, but has infinite names and expansions. This is inclusive, yet maintains authentically monotheistic.

or this, its what smartas believe. But this would mean all the gods aren't real, just mental projections onto an infinite God.

 

[metis]

Reason and logic win.
If all the gods exist, it still wouldn't matter because they are themselves caught in pairs of opposites, like and dislike. Just really powerful beings.
Nature encompasses them all, in Hinduism they call Nature Shakti, and in Buddhism they. Call it Buddha nature. This thing, being the source of all gods, men, and animals, it would be the "one true God" that Moses and Muhammad speak of.

This is why monotheism is considered superior to polytheism, because the lesser gods are hardly worth calling God. They are like angels, powerful, but still caught in samsara.

Can't say I agree with ya here. All polytheistic societies I've studied to have a hierarchy of Gods, each with their own area of sovereignty. There almost always is a more dominant God, but even that deity doesn't completely control the others, although conflicts between Gods are pretty common, and some do lose out.

Nor do these Gods always reflect dualisms. For example, with the Inuit, none of their Gods are evil, and the belief is that if something goes terribly wrong it's because they didn't protect the person/people for one reason or another, such as not being honored.

 

[Quintessence]

It's been observed by others wiser in these things than myself that in many respects, monotheism invented the idea of religious intolerance. Strict monotheism is inherently and uncompromisingly exclusivist. That's going to breed conflict. Lots of it. Statements like this one, for example:

Here's another possible view. God is fundamentally one, but has infinite names and expansions. This is inclusive, yet maintains authentically monotheistic.

... are unfair to true polytheism. Suggesting all the gods are facets of a single god may help the monotheist feel better, but it disrespects the cultural traditions of the polytheist. If the monotheist says "ah, you can have your multiple gods but in reality they're all the same god" I wouldn't fault the polytheist who responds with "no, they're not; to suggest they are misrepresents my gods and insults my traditions." And the monotheist might say "but aren't you glad that I recognize your gods are part of my god?" The polytheist might respond, "no, because they're not part of your god; they're separate gods!"

Why this appears to be the case is that if one's society is more polytheistic, there's a greater acceptance of diversity since polytheism by nature in more diverse when it comes to beliefs. If I believe in Gods A, B, and C, and you believe in Gods D,E, and F, there's not likely to be much conflict. But even if we both believe in A,B, and C, because we assume diversity of opinions, then we are less likely to conflict with one another.

And here's where I'm going to tear down what I just said above... lulz. I have seen many, many disputes in the contemporary Pagan community about the gods. That we accept multiple gods by no means we're less likely to come into conflict. Pagans argue about all sorts of things. We'll argue about what the gods are "really" like and if our personal experience with them can trump historical evidence. We'll argue about what the proper kinds of offerings are. We'll argue about whether or not gods are "archetypes" or "just symbols" as opposed to "literally real." And Neopaganism in particular has something of an identity crisis with respect to its polytheism as it loves to throw a lot of not-so-polytheistic ways of thinking into its mix (well, maybe it doesn't love to... I think it can't help it because it developed out of an overwhelmingly monotheistic culture and it has a very hard time freeing itself from that influence).

In short, polytheism isn't quite the "get out of conflict free" card that one might think.

 

[ions]

But this would mean all the gods aren't real, just mental projections onto an infinite God.

Suggesting all the gods are facets of a single god may help the monotheist feel better, but it disrespects the cultural traditions of the polytheist.

Let me take it a bit further. This may not be a solution, but is perhaps worth considering.

First, there may be gods (powerful beings, demigods or angels) which are more powerful than humans, but who are not God (or expansions of God). So not all 'gods' are equivalent to God.

Secondly, there can still be infinite expansions of God (divinity), which are all real, eternal and with form. This may require us to shed our limited perception of space-time. For example relativity, quantum mechanics, and superstring, already indicate that our common-sense perception of reality is vastly different than a more fundamental reality. So it;s entirely conceivable that God has infinite localized forms without losing the attribute of oneness? Bottom line: It may be difficult to conceive of an infinite God operating in a potentially infinite dimensional space with our minds, which are bound to time in a 3-dimensional space.

 

[Contemplative Cat]

But reason has led even Hindu(who have 33000000 gods) take a montheist approach.
If polytheism was rejected, monotheism could avoid exclusiveness by taking on such a view that all gods are personalities of an all encompassing God.

I really don't want to offend anyone, but when two religions have God. The only way to not be exclusive is to reconcile them as the same God, otherwise we get into 'which God is the Real God'.
On the contrary polytheism is what separates us....
Shunya isn't the same as Brahman, Allah is adifferent than yehweh, etc.
Even though we know they are the same, secular differences have created a modern form of polytheism, that has caused Crusades and Inquisition(if Christians really thought jahova was the only God, they wouldn't work so hard to fight the other peoples gods)

The only religion that isn't polytheism is a Universalist monotheism.

 

[Contemplative Cat]

Let me take it a bit further. This may not be a solution, but is perhaps worth considering.

First, there may be gods (powerful beings, demigods or angels) which are more powerful than humans, but who are not God (or expansions of God). So not all 'gods' are equivalent to God.

Secondly, there can still be infinite expansions of God (divinity), which are all real, eternal and with form. This may require us to shed our limited perception of space-time. For example relativity, quantum mechanics, and superstring, already indicate that our common-sense perception of reality is vastly different than a more fundamental reality. So it;s entirely conceivable that God has infinite localized forms without losing the attribute of oneness? Bottom line: It may be difficult to conceive of an infinite God operating in a potentially infinite dimensional space with our minds, which are bound to time in a 3-dimensional space.

that's possible, not sure though. It seems like wishful thinking, after all where's the big brain who thinks Gods thoughts?

 

[FranklinMichaelV.3]

One-stop Shopping....

 

[Thana]

Here's something I read to kick-start my morning meditation two days ago: Whoever excludes others will find himself excluded in turn. Those who affirm that their God is the only God are doing something dangerous and pernicious because they are on their way to imposing their beliefs on others by any means possible. -- "The Path To Tranquility: Daily Wisdom" by the Dalai Lama, p. 393.

Whaddya think?

So I cannot say my God is the only God, Because it's not true for everyone?

That's silly.

I say chocolate is the best thing ever,
Even though I know that is not true for everyone.

I don't accept other Gods as Gods, and I won't deny that just to be seen as open minded.

Of course I'm not open minded about the existence of my God.
I think someone who is open minded about the existence of their God isn't sure that their God is real.

I think that quote is trying to persuade people to be persuadable.

No thanks.

 

[outhouse]

I don't accept other Gods as Gods, .

Why not?


Much of the OT is a compilation of El and Yahweh. I think you already accept multiple gods and just don't realize it.

 

[Thana]

Why not?


Much of the OT is a compilation of El and Yahweh. I think you already accept multiple gods and just don't realize it.

God may have multiple names, But that doesn't make Him any more or less one God.

 

[outhouse]

God may have multiple names, But that doesn't make Him any more or less one God.

Its not one god with two names though.


That does not explain away that ancient Israelites worshipped El who was Yahweh's father.

The whole father in heaven has more to do with El, while Yahweh was a warrior deity and many other natural concepts such as a storm deity.



They didn't name one concept with two different names, they worshipped a family of gods, who after 600ish years were compiled into one deity due to a loyal Yahwist king [Josiah] who instituted national religious reforms to only worship Yahweh and Yahweh alone. Which took the people a few hundred years to comply

 

[nazz]

Here's something I read to kick-start my morning meditation two days ago: Whoever excludes others will find himself excluded in turn. Those who affirm that their God is the only God are doing something dangerous and pernicious because they are on their way to imposing their beliefs on others by any means possible. -- "The Path To Tranquility: Daily Wisdom" by the Dalai Lama, p. 393.

Whaddya think?

Well I recognize all gods as real but I worship only one. Does that get the HHDL's stamp of approval?