Information AboutHenotheism |
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HENOTHEISM IN VARIOUS RELIGIONS Classical Greco-Roman Paganism While Greek and Roman religion began as Polytheism , during the Classical period the religion was thoroughly henotheistic, taking the form of a monarchical polytheism. Zeus (or Jupiter ) was viewed as the supreme, all-powerful and all-knowing, king and father of the Olympian gods. To illustrate, Maximus Tyrius ( 2nd Century C.E.), stated: :"In such a mighty contest, sedition and discord, you will see one according law and assertion in all the earth, that there is one God, the king and father of all things, and many gods, sons of God, ruling together with him." The Philosophers Plato and Plotinus taught that above the gods of traditional belief was "The One". The One ( God ) is transcendent and ineffable. Hinduism It is difficult clearly to characterise Hinduism, which can take the form of pantheistic monism, as in Vedanta , or monotheism, as in Smarta Hinduism. In popular form it appears sometimes as polytheism, or as inclusive monotheism admitting emanating deities. However, the Rig Veda (undeveloped early Hinduism), was what Max Müller based his views of henotheism on. In the four Vedas , Müller believed that a striving towards One was being aimed at by the worship of different cosmic principles, such as Agni (fire), Vayu (wind), Indra (rain, thunder, the sky), etc. each of which was variously, by clearly different writers, hailed as supreme in different sections of the books. Indeed, however, what was confusing was an early idea of Rita, or supreme order, that bound all the gods. Other phrases such as ''Ekam Sat, Vipraha Bahudha Vadanti'' (Truth is One, though the sages know it as many) led to understandings that the Vedic people admitted to fundamental oneness. From this mix of Monism , monotheism and naturalist polytheism Max Müller decided to name the early Vedic religion henotheistic. However, unprecedented and hitherto unduplicated ideas of pure in the first Aranyaka s and Upanishads . However, to deny that a form of polytheism is also present may equally be to ignore aspects of the early Vedic texts. Whether the concept of "henotheism" adequately addresses these complexities or simply fudges them is a matter of debate. As for classical Hinduism, it evolved within the Vedic line but truly came into being with the ascendancy of aspects of God like Shiva and Vishnu in the Puranic and post-Puranic developments. Many sects of monotheistic Bhakti (loving devotion) worshippers came into vogue who, while admitting other deities, saw them as clearly emanating from one principal source. Extreme monists within the Advaita Vedanta movement, Yoga philosophy and certain non-dual Tantra schools of Hinduism preclude a broad categorization of Hinduism as henotheistic, what with the conception of Brahman , a formless non-being-being that is posited to be pure consciousness, beyond attributes, the Divine Ground from which all else that is limited and temporal sprang. The fundamental Hindu trinity, Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva are seen as many as being creation, preservation and destruction subsumed in one cycle of being that is ultimately transcended with the attainment of Moksha . Nevertheless, different devotional traditions have disputed the primacy of Shiva over Vishnu and ''vice versa''. Again "henotheism" is a loose term covering complex traditions and disputes. The period of Hinduism that most closely corresponded to henotheism as Müller understood it was the early Vedic period (before 1000 BCE within the four preliminary Vedas) and even that is disputed by some scholars, most notably the great Hindu mystic Aurobindo Ghosh . Christianity Although most Christians adamantly label themselves as Monotheists , some argue that Christianity is properly a form of henotheism. Most forms of Christianity include the belief in a Christian Godhead consisting of God The Father , Jesus , and the Holy Spirit , with God the Father being dominant "actor" and "creator" – though most Christians reject the view that God the Father is supreme over Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. However, Trinitarian Christians strongly reject the view that the three persons of the Godhead are three distinct gods. Rather, they describe the three persons as having a single "substance", thus counting as one god. The Council Of Nicaea ( 325 ) affirmed that God was "One Substance (Greek ''Ousia'') and three Persona (Greek '' Hypostasis '')". The Christian Trinity, like the Classical Pagan Hypostasis and Hindu Trimurti , has an impersonal divine substance as its unifying principle. In addition, many Christians believe in what some consider to be a "pantheon" of Angel s, Demon s, and/or Saint s that are inferior to the Trinity . Christians do not label these beings as "gods", although they are attributed with supernatural powers, and are sometimes the object of prayer. When Christianity was adopted by Greco-Roman pagans or African slaves, the new converts often Attributed To These Saints Features of their previous polytheistic figures. In some cases, these beliefs have developed out of the Catholic church and form Syncretism s like Santeria . These beliefs are somewhat similar to Hinduism which distinguishes between God in the form of Vishnu or Shiva , and Deva s which are subordinate to God and who supervise forces of nature such as Agni (i.e., Fire ) or Vayu (i.e., Wind ). Some Non-trinitarian Christian denominations are more clearly henotheistic:
Israelite Beliefs and Judaism It is generally uncontroversial that many of the Iron Age religions found in the land of Israel were henotheistic in practice. For example, the Moabites worshipped the god, Chemosh , the Edomites , Qaus , both of whom were part of the greater Canaanite pantheon, headed by the chief god, El . The Canaanite pantheon consisted of El and Asherat as the chief deities, with 70 sons who were said to rule over each of the nations of the earth. These sons were the national gods worshipped within each region. More recently, M.S. Smith's synthesis of the Hebrew religion in the Iron Age has put forward the case that it, like those around it, was also henotheistic. The discovery of artifacts at Kuntillet 'Ajrud and Khirbet El-Qom have arguably shown that in at least some sections of Israelite society, Yahweh and Asherah were believed to coexist as a divine couple. Further evidence of an understanding of Yahweh existing within the Canaanite pantheon derives from Syncretistic Myths found within the Hebrew Bible itself. Various battles between Yahweh and Leviathan , Mot , the Tanninim , and Yamm are already attested in the 14th century B.C.E. texts found at Ugarit (ancient Ras-Shamra). In some cases, Yahweh had replaced Baal, and in others, he had taken El's roles. According to Genesis, that he is the same god as El , the supreme being. This could be the recounting, in Myth ical form, of Israel 's conversion to monotheism. SEE ALSO |
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