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ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS Christian view See Also: Christianity Although . Christians will often counter this claim by asserting that since they only believe in one eternity, and that God is eternity, there can only be one God that subsists in three persons. Moreover, some minority sects derived from Christianity, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses , deny the idea of Trinity. Rastafarians , like many Christians, hold that God is both a unity and a trinity, in their case God being Haile Selassie . Rastas see themselves, and possibly all individuals, as the Holy Spirit element of the Trinity, with Haile Selassie as an incarnation of both God the Father and God the Son. Haile Selassie is also seen as the head, and the Rastafarians as the body, of God. Veneration of Saints by christians also, to a certain aspect raises questions about monotheistic nature of Christianity. Especially because there are specific churches dedicated for each saint. Roman Catholics believe in praying to saints instead of god as "an indirect way to reach god". A similar practice in Islam would be considered Shirk (the Sin of Polytheism ). Islamic view See Also: Islam Islam is a fully monotheistic religion. This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word. From the above, we can see that the Qur'an states that God 's spiritual presence is experienced in the universe. In Islam, he is all knowing and most merciful. The Arabic word for monotheism is Tawhīd which means 'unification', i.e. to unify or to keep something unified. The Shahadah (الشهادة), or the Islamic creed, is the declaration of belief in the unity of God ( Allah in Arabic) and the prophethood of Muhammad . Its recitation is considered one of the Five Pillars Of Islam by Sunni Muslim s. When sincerely stated aloud, one is considered to have officially declared oneself a convert to Islam. The ( Salaat ) in Islam, for example, involve explicit monotheistic testimony. Islam declares the "Unity of God" as their primary teaching. Furthermore, Islam considers Christianity's Trinity as a distortion of Jesus 's original teaching after the fact. Bahá'í view See Also: Bahá'í Faith The in that God is conscious of His creation, 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'lláh attributed titles to God such as the All-Powerful, and the All-Loving, which are derived from the limited human experiences of power, love, or justice. Bahá'u'lláh teaches that human knowledge of God is limited to those attributes and qualities which are perceptible 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 they can grow closer to God. The Obligatory Prayer s in the Bahá'í Faith involve explicit monotheistic testimony. Furthermore Bahá'u'lláh states that the knowledge of the attributes of God is revealed to humanity through the Messengers he sends to humanity. The Bahá'í Faith accepts the authenticity of the founders of monotheistic faiths such as Abraham , Jesus , Muhammad , et cetera. Given Bahá'í beliefs in the Unity Of Religion and that Revelation Is Progressive , some non-monotheistic religions are accepted and seen as providing an earlier or partial understanding of the unity of God. This is not only true of seemingly Polytheistic traditions such as Hinduism , but even of what are sometimes interpreted as Atheistic teachings, such as Buddhism . Source of Abrahamic religions Although the major source of both Christianity and Judaism is the Hebrew Bible , Judaism and Christianity like all cultures have received influences from various non-biblical religions present in Egypt and Syria . This can be seen by the Torah 's reference to Egyptian culture in Genesis and the story of Moses, as well as the mention of Hittite and Hurrian cultures of Syria in the Genesis story of Abraham. The Hebrews are a group of the Canaanite peoples who prior to the development of monotheism practiced a Polytheistic religion. In traditional Jewish , Christian , and Islamic thought, monotheism was regarded as their most basic belief. They have traditionally interpreted scriptures as Exclusive Monotheism . CENTRAL- AND EAST-ASIAN TRADITIONS: MONOTHEISM Hinduism See Also: Hinduism The Vedas are the most sacred texts ( śruti ) in Hinduism. The oldest of them, the Rigveda , at more than 3000 years old, in its youngest books (books 1 and 10) contains evidence for emerging monotheistic thought. Often quoted are Pada 1.164.46c, :"To what is One, sages give many a title" (trans. Griffith ) and hymns 10.129 and 10.130, dealing with a creator deity, especially verse 10.129.7: :"He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, / Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not." (trans. Griffith) '''' in 1.164.46c means "One Being" or "One Truth". In Hinduism , views are broad and range from Polytheism , Monism , Dualism , Pantheism , Panentheism , alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars, to strict Monotheism , see Hindu Denominations . Contemporary Hinduism is divided into four major divisions, Vaishnavism , Shaivism , Shaktism , and Smartism . The denominations all believe in one God but differ in their conceptions. The two primary form of differences are between the two monotheistic denominations of Vaishnavism which conceives God as Vishnu and Shaivism , which conceives God as Shiva . Other aspects of God are in fact aspects of Vishnu or Shiva. Smartas , who follow Advaita philosophy, are Monists , and view multiple manifestations of the one God or source of being. Hindu monists see one unity, with the personal Gods, different aspects of only One Supreme Being, like a single beam of light separated into colours by a prism, and are valid to worship. Some of the Smarta aspects of God include Devi , Vishnu , Ganesh , and Siva . It is the Smarta view that dominates the view of Hinduism in the West. By contrast with Smarta/Advaita belief, Vaishnavism and Shaivism follows a singular concept of God, or Panentheistic Monotheism or panentheistic Monism . Many Hindus believe that God has six attributes. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God, are countless, with the following six qualities being the ''most important.''
Additionally, many Hindus, including Smartas , believe in God having three aspects as Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva , the Trimurti (also called the Hindu trinity.) and these different aspects are part of the one and the same God. For further information, please see Hindu Views On Monotheism . Ayyavazhi See Also: Ayyavazhi Though Ayyavazhi , a religion originating in the 19th century, is a monistic religion it also accepts almost all deities in Hinduism . In the first half of its scripture Akilattirattu Ammanai it says about the previous six Aeons where Narayana incarnates to destroy the different aspects of Kroni . But in the seventh, Kali Yukam the sixth fragment of Kroni, Kaliyan spread in the mind of people as evil force. There is a universal change as Kaliyan claimed all the power of different godheads as boons. So it was impossible for any godheads to destroy him. So the power of all deities were unified into Vaikundar who was the incarnation of Ekam , the Ultimate Soul or Paramatama. The activities of Vaikundar such as Unifying The Deities , shows Vaikundar reigning as a king by controlling all other deities. So after the incarnation of Vaikundar all the deities were under Vaikundar and he was considered as a Supreme deity and the one and only worshippable God there after. Sikhism See Also: Sikhism Sikhism is a distinct monotheistic faith that rose in northern India during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sikhs believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib , known as the Mool Mantra signifies this: : : Transliteration : Ik ōaṅkār sat nām karatā purakh nirabha'u niravair akāl mūrat ajūnī saibhaṁ gur prasād. : English : One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace ~ It is often said that the 1430 pages of the 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. Zoroastrianism See Also: Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is considered by some to perhaps be one of the earliest monotheistic belief to have evolved among humanity, though some derivatives of it are not fully so, as the chief god in derivatives such as Zurvanism is not the sole creator. Zoroastrian monotheism has had major influence on the religions of the middle eastern monotheisms in adaptations of such concepts as heavens, hells, judgement day and messianic figures. Several professors, of archaeology and of Biblical Criticism , connect Zoroastrianism and the religion of the early Israelites. For example, they have made the controversial claim that many stories in the Old Testament were actually initially developed by scribes employed by King Josiah ( 7th Century BC ) to rationalize monotheistic belief in YHVH. This theory observes that the neighbouring countries, such as Egypt , Persia etc, although keeping written records, have no writings about the stories of the Bible or its main characters before 650 BC . Such claims are detailed in ''Who Were the Early Israelites?'' by William G. Dever . Another such book is ''The Bible Unearthed'' by Neil A. Silberman and colleagues, Simon and Schuster. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MONOTHEISM Early Monotheism The religions that are monotheistic today are often thought of as having been of relatively recent historical origin — although efforts at comparison are usually beset by claims of most religions to being very ancient or eternal. Eastern religions, especially in China and India , that have concepts of Panentheism , are notably difficult to classify along Western notions of monotheism vs. Polytheism . Attempting to compare the two is much like asking how many sides a circle has when comparing to a square, in that it makes no sense. The earliest examples of monotheism include two Rigvedic (1500 - 1200 BCE) hymns (10.129,130) to a Panentheistic creator God; the Shri Rudram , a Vedic hymn to Rudra , an earlier aspect of Hinduism's Shiva often referred to by the ancient Brahmans as Stiva, a masculine fertility god, expressed Monistic Theism , and is still chanted today; the Zoroastrian Ahuramazda and Chinese Shang Ti . In the Ancient Orient , many cities had their own local god, though this henotheistic worship of a single god did not imply denial of the existence of other gods. The Hebrew Ark Of The Covenant is supposed (by some scholars) to have adapted this practice to a Nomad ic lifestyle, paving their way for a singular God. Yet, many scholars now believe that it may have been the Zoroastrian religion of the Persian Empire that was the first monotheistic religion, and the Jews were influenced by such notions (this controversy is still in debate) {Link without Title} . The iconoclastic cult of the Egyptian solar god Aten was promoted by the Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), who ruled between 1358 and 1340 BC. The Aten cult is often cited as the earliest known example of monotheism, and is sometimes claimed to have been a formative influence on early Judaism, due to the presence of Hebrew slaves in Egypt. But even though Akhenaten 's Hymn To Aten offers strong evidence that Akhenaten considered Aten to be the sole, omnipotent creator, Akhenaten's program to enforce this monotheistic world-view ended with his death; the worship of other gods beside Aten never ceased outside his court, and the older polytheistic cults soon regained precedence. The worship of polytheistic gods, on the other hand, is seen by many to predate monotheism, reaching back as far as the Paleolithic . Today, monotheistic religions are dominant, though other systems of belief still exist. History in Abrahamic Religions ''Monotheism'' From Greek, “''mon''” meaning alone, and “''theos''” meaning God.‘ Merriam-Webster Dictionary’; http://www.m-w.com/; retrieved 25 March 2006. The belief in the existence of one God, or in the oneness of God.“Monotheism”, in Brittanica, 15th ed. (1986), 8:266. ''Monotheism'' characterises Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.“Monotheism”, in Brittanica, 15th ed. (1986), 8:266. Judaism having the earliest origins of these three shows an interesting development of the concept. In Genesis chapter one, God is put in the singular context. He is unambiguously singular, and therefore Genesis chapter one could be said to be a ''Monotheistic''. (Gen 1:1) However, if we look at God’s interaction with Abraham, the evidence is less compelling. According to the book of Judith, the Patriarchs (starting with Abraham), left the gods of their fathers. (Jdt 5:7) God is later to reveal Himself not as the only God, but rather as the god whom Abraham knows. (Gen 15:17) In such a respect, God is not God alone, but the god who was worshipped by Abraham’s clan. In such a context, it is 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.R.G.Vincent, “Monotheism (in the Bible)” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, (1967), 9:1066. In the early Mosaic era, the possibility of other gods is left an open question, although by this stage Israel claims that their God is greater. (Ex 18:11) This same subtle shift is reverberated in 2 Chr 2:5, and could indicate that Israel understood that the God they recognised was God alone, and other gods were therefore false. This would be ''Monotheism'' in the proper sense of the world. By the time of the prophet Isaiah, ''Monotheism'' is solidly and explicitly accepted. “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD 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. It is therefore likely that Gen 1:1 was redacted later than the other examples supplied, and so, the development of ''Monotheism'' comes firstly on a tribal level, and gradually advances to recognition that the God of Israel is the only God. It is into this context that Christianity emerges, and thus Christianity was from the outset ''Monotheistic''. (John 1:1) Likewise, Islam claims Abrahamic origins, and is also instructed there is one God in the Koran: “And your God is one God! There is no god but He; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful.” (Surah 2:163). Thus, Islam is considered foundationally ''Montheistic''. Pre-biblical Middle-Eastern religions 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 Aten cult in the reign of the Egypt ian Pharaoh Akhenaten , under the chiefly influence of the Eastern-originating Nefertiti . Iconoclasm 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). Hinduism was also a pre-biblical monotheisic faith, worshipping one divine force known as the Atman , or the Brahman. Other issues like the Divine Right Of Kings may possibly also stems from pharaonic laws on the ruler being the Demigod or representative of the Creator on Earth. The massive Tomb s in the Egyptian Pyramids which aligned with Astronomical Observation s, exemplify this relationship between the pharaoh and the heavens and was subsequently adopted by Christian Royalty by claiming a direct lease on ruling by the grace of God. Monotheism, polytheism or monism? The literal word meanings are roughly as follows:
This is a declaration of the fundamental nature of God as being one whole "unity" from the suggestive plurality of the Elohim. 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. Elohim 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 ''wayyomer'' ויאמר with singular inflection, and not ''wayyomru'' ויאמרו with plural inflection), and yet in this case the "our" and "us" seems to create a presumption of plurality. Judaism, however, insists that the "LORD 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). Monotheistic interpretations In the west, the all cultures believed in a variety of multiple deities such as in Idolatry , forces and creatures of Nature as in Animism , or in celestial bodies as in Astrology , but did not know the one and only true God . However, the Hebrew Bible teaches that, at Creation , Adam And Eve 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 Jew ish sages, Maimonides describes the process in his work the Mishneh Torah : In the days of , Judaism claims to have an important advantage over all other religions because its earliest History , Beliefs , Laws , and Practices are preserved and taught in the Torah (the Hebrew Bible ) which provides the clearest textual source for the rise and development of what is named Judaism's Ethical Monotheism 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. When Moses returned with the . OTHER TYPES OF MONOTHEISM See Also: Comparative religion Some argue that there are various forms of monotheism, including:
COMPARISON TO POLYTHEISM AND DUALISM See Also: Polytheism On the surface, Monotheism is in contrast with Polytheism , which believes in worship of many Gods /divinities. In actuality there are many faiths that hold both beliefs. For instance, Inclusive monotheism claims that all deities are just different names/forms for the single monotheistic God; Smartism , a major denomination of Hinduism, adheres to this belief in the oneness of God ( Brahman / Ishwar ) who can be envisioned with different aspects and can be called by different names. Exclusive monotheism, on the other hand, claims that worship of divinities such as angels and gods that are other than the one God is incorrect or demonic, though they may believe in their existance. Many strains of Vaishnavism , a denomination of Hinduism, regards the worship of anyone other than Vishnu as incorrect. Exclusive monotheism is a well-known tenet in the beliefs of the Abrahamic Religion s. Dualism , from a western religion's perspective, teaches that there are two independent Divine beings or eternal principles, the one Good , and the other Evil , as set forth especially in early Zoroastrianism (modern Zoroastrianism is strictly monotheistic), but more fully in its later offshoots in Gnostic systems, such as Manichaeism . From the perspective of Hinduism, Dualism ( Dvaita ) is a monotheistic philosophy that teaches that God is seperate from his creation and contrasts with Monism . From this perspective, both monistic and dualistic philosophies are monotheistic and are differentiated by their stance in the Immanance and Transcendence of God. FURTHER READING
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EXTERNAL LINKS Zoroastrian Jewish Christianity Islam Shaivism Vaishnavism |
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