"Polytheism" and "Monotheism" the same?

[Riverwolf]

I've recently learned that the old "polytheistic" religions did, in fact, worship a single god. This god was represented by different persona, leading to the misinterpreted worship of multiple gods. This isn't my own belief, but I offer a possibility: what if all the other religions before the Abrahamic ones worshiped YHWH already, and Abraham and his followers simply offered a new way to do it?

It's late so forgive me if I'm not very clear.

My sources of information are The Devil: A Biography by Peter Stanford, and A History of God by Karen Armstrong.

[Azakel]

IMO I don't think there the same at all. Since most Old Polytheistic religions were Hard Polytheistic which is all Gods and Goddesses are the own personal individual beings.
Soft Polytheistic religions is more like what you are thinking. I think there's a thread on this...... Soft, Hard & Others

Here you go my friend.

[Mike182]

the practitioners of those "old polytheistic Religions" believed they were worshipping different individual Gods, not different manifestations of the same God. i'm not sure where you got this from, i would love to see some evidence to support the argument.

[Tau]

Originally Posted by Mike182

the practitioners of those "old polytheistic Religions" believed they were worshipping different individual Gods, not different manifestations of the same God. i'm not sure where you got this from, i would love to see some evidence to support the argument.

Hinduism is an excellent example....

[Azakel]

Originally Posted by Tau

Hinduism is an excellent example....

That just one out of how many more Old Polytheistic religion. And most Hindus I talk to don't place Hinduism in any kind of Polytheistic type there is.

[Mike182]

Originally Posted by Tau

Hinduism is an excellent example....

ok granted, although i didn't specify it i was meaning Western religions, like the ones in Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Norse and Celtic Religions etc. all of these have roots in pre-written history so count as "old", and they were polytheistic in every sense of the word. granted the diversity was such that there probably were some whose theology was monotheistic in some way or another, but for the most part, they were polytheistic.

i was assuming these to be the examples to challenge the proposed notion that the old polytheistic religions were in fact monotheistic by viewing all the gods as One God.

[Azakel]

Originally Posted by Mike182

ok granted, although i didn't specify it i was meaning Western religions, like the ones in Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Norse and Celtic Religions etc. all of these have roots in pre-written history so count as "old", and they were polytheistic in every sense of the word. granted the diversity was such that there probably were some whose theology was monotheistic in some way or another, but for the most part, they were polytheistic.

i was assuming these to be the examples to challenge the proposed notion that the old polytheistic religions were in fact monotheistic by viewing all the gods as One God.

True, and there are also examples of (hard) Polytheistic believe else were in the world. The Native American are Polytheistic, has is Shinto in Japan(really Polytheistic).

[gnostic]

Some polytheistic religions are essentially monotheistic in nature.

For example, some people would just worship one god of the many available to them. There are whole pantheon of deities, but some may choose to worship only one of these, and all their dedication and offering to a single deity, and ignored the rest, eg. Artemis. This would make a person or group of people technically "monotheist".

[Storm]

Originally Posted by gnostic

Some polytheistic religions are essentially monotheistic in nature.

For example, some people would just worship one god of the many available to them. There are whole pantheon of deities, but some may choose to worship only one of these, and all their dedication and offering to a single deity, and ignored the rest, eg. Artemis. This would make a person or group of people technically "monotheist".

No, that would be a henotheist.