Are Christians polytheists?

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh. They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

So they are clearly Polytheists.

Do u agree?

 

[cambridge79]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh. They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

So they are clearly Polytheists.

Do u agree?

i think christianity at the beginning in order to survive and prosper incorporated many aspects of previous roman religions. The cult of saints is like a reinterpretation of the old roman and greek pantheon, where you had zeus at the top and a big series of minor deities under him just like christmas is a reinterpretation of the roman sol invictus celebration.

in the end i don't think christianity is truly politeistic in its theology, i think it's pretty clear god is "the one" but i think many christian people are in their hearts possibly not even realizing it, may pray only at the holy mary, or jesus, os some particular saint and the probably consider them just as deities.

 

[StarryNightshade]

I'll be the possible outlier and say, no, Christians are not polytheists.

 

[Augustus]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh. They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

So they are clearly Polytheists.

Do u agree?

It depends a bit on the actual denomination of Christianity.

Some Protestants might have a reasonable case for being monotheists. Catholics and Orthodox are probably really soft polytheists though if we want to be pedantic about it.

I don't see why anyone should really care though. Let people decide for themselves if what they are doing constitutes polytheism, etc. They will say they don't worship these figures specifically, but see them as representative of God.

Some people would say bowing down to a stone every day, having a requirement to visit it, circumambulate it, throw stones at it and kiss it would constitute idolatry. You of course will disagree, so I will accept your word for that.

Why not do the same for them?

 

[cambridge79]

Why not do the same for them?

well I didn't force them, they decided and coded their own rules to follow, i think it's fair for us to see if they stick to them or not.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

It depends a bit on the actual denomination of Christianity.

Some Protestants might have a reasonable case for being monotheists. Catholics and Orthodox are probably really soft polytheists though if we want to be pedantic about it.

I don't see why anyone should really care though. Let people decide for themselves if what they are doing constitutes polytheism, etc. They will say they don't worship these figures specifically, but see them as representative of God.

Some people would say bowing down to a stone every day, having a requirement to visit it, circumambulate it, throw stones at it and kiss it would constitute idolatry. You of course will disagree, so I will accept your word for that.

Why not do the same for them?

Because we have a saying from Umar r.a. He said: I know you(stone) cannot benefit me nor harm me, if the prophet pbuh didnt kissed u i would never have kissed u.


So the stone is just symbolic direction of prayer. It has no power at all.

U can compare it to Jewish wall.


But christians say Mary can hear us and forgive our sins!
They say the same about saints and jesus pbuh.

So that is clearcut idolatry.

 

[cambridge79]

They say the same about saints and jesus pbuh.

actually they claim that mary or jesus or the saints to be as "intermediary". they pray saint "whoknowswho" so he can go to god and put a good word with him so he can answer those prayers.
why this should even make sense ( like if god needed help in his work, or a saint could change his mind, or you can skip the line if you know the right saint ) i honestly don't know, but they don't believe saint "whoknowswho" has the power to directly answer those prayers.

 

[Jumi]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh. They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

Nope. At least the Christians here don't worship holy spirit, Mary or saints. They are protestants who have much less in their religion.

 

[Jumi]

But christians say Mary can hear us and forgive our sins!
They say the same about saints and jesus pbuh.

Are only Catholics Christian?

 

[Augustus]

Because we have a saying from Umar r.a. He said: I know you(stone) cannot benefit me nor harm me, if the prophet pbuh didnt kissed u i would never have kissed u.


So the stone is just symbolic direction of prayer. It has no power at all.

U can compare it to Jewish wall.


But christians say Mary can hear us and forgive our sins!
They say the same about saints and jesus pbuh.

So that is clearcut idolatry.

As I said, I'll take your word on this.

Christians might think Mary can intercede on their behalf, but Muslims also accept that Muhammed can intercede on their behalf. Muslims don't pray to Muhammed, but if he can intercede, then he can influence God's will and following his example is the most important thing.

If people want to find it, they can find polytheism and idolatry in all religions. Why bother looking for it though? Just take people at their word and let God decide the rest.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

No, we are not polytheists and we don't worship Mary and the other Saints. Saints are honored people who are heroes and sources of inspiration in the Faith. They are human beings and the goal is to become a Saint. In traditional Christianity, we do not believe that our ties to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ cease after death. The Kingdom of God and the Communion of Saints is eternal and shatters the boundaries of life and death, Heaven and earth.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

But christians say Mary can hear us and forgive our sins!
They say the same about saints and jesus pbuh.

Jesus can, because He is God, but Mary and the rest of the Saints can't. They can intercede for us to God, though. It's the same concept as praying for a friend.

 

[cambridge79]

Mary and the rest of the Saints can't.

mary was both the wife and mother of god, if you think she has no power obviously you've never been married

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

mary was both the wife and mother of god, if you think she has no power obviously you've never been married

She's Joseph's wife. God's Bride is the Church.

 

[cambridge79]

She's Joseph's wife. God's Bride is the Church.

i guess the "god's bride is the church" is something put there by the church itself, considering also that god should be the same god of jews and muslims.

by the way you're walking in a dangerous path here, if god impregnated mary but didn't marry her, you know what this makes it of jesus?

 

[Tumah]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh. They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

So they are clearly Polytheists.

Do u agree?

I think the question is: How much does it matter? Is it enough of a fulfillment of the commandment to believe in G-d that they believe in G-d, even though they also believe in what we call "****uf - partnership" with the son and holy ghost? Are they required to have the correct view about the nature of G-d Himself, or is it enough that they believe in a Creator of everything even if the details about the Creator are off?
Its not enough to just stick on a label. The parameters of the theology and their requirements, need to be examined in order to determine how to relate to them.

 

[Shiranui117]

Unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians worship holy spirit and Jesus pbuh.

Yes, but contrary to whatever Muslims think, we don't worship Jesus and the Holy Spirit alongside God. We say that Jesus and the Holy Spirit ARE God. We worship the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, as the Roman Catholics and Antiochian Orthodox say during every prayer.

They also worship saints and virgin Mary pbuh.

Not so. We give them respect the same way that Muslims honor Muhammad, but they are by no means worshipped.

So they are clearly Polytheists.

No, we are just monotheists with a more complex view of God.

Because we have a saying from Umar r.a. He said: I know you(stone) cannot benefit me nor harm me, if the prophet pbuh didnt kissed u i would never have kissed u.

So the stone is just symbolic direction of prayer. It has no power at all.

It sure doesn't seem like that to any non-Muslim. Do you see how the Muslim attitude towards the Kaabah is the same as the Christian attitude towards our icons and our statues?

But christians say Mary can hear us and forgive our sins!

No one can forgive sins except God alone. This is and has always been Christian teaching. The only reason that the Saints can hear us after death is because they have received the grace from God to be able to do so, for all are alive in God (Luke 20:38)

They say the same about saints

I don't know if Muslims ever do this, but we Christians pray for one another regularly. As Saint Frankenstein said, we believe that Jesus shattered the boundaries between life and death. The Church on Earth is connected to the Church in Heaven, and so the Saints are able to pray for us, just as they did when they were alive.

and jesus pbuh.

This is because Jesus Himself is God.

So that is clearcut idolatry.

If you were right about Christianity, then you would have a point. As it is, you only know a caricature of what we Christian actually teach and practice.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

A Christian can be a polytheist. Unlike most creeds, the Christian one is about what you should believe, not what you mustn't.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

Heaven and all things invisible gives lot of scope, and many African Christians identify their traditional gods with the denizens of heaven - angels, if you like. The Old Testament frequently refers to gods, which is traditionally taken to mean angels.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

i guess the "god's bride is the church" is something put there by the church itself, considering also that god should be the same god of jews and muslims.

The Church is viewed as the Spiritual Israel. It is the Covenant extended to all humanity.

by the way you're walking in a dangerous path here, if god impregnated mary but didn't marry her, you know what this makes it of jesus?

The Holy Spirit didn't have sex with Mary. The Holy Family are truly an exception to the norm, in regard to families. She was a woman set aside for a specific purpose. Joseph was Jesus' legal earthly father.

 

[cambridge79]

The Church is viewed as the Spiritual Israel. It is the Covenant extended to all humanity.


The Holy Spirit didn't have sex with Mary. The Holy Family are truly an exception to the norm, in regard to families. She was a woman set aside for a specific purpose. Joseph was Jesus' legal earthly father.

i didn't say he had sex with Mary, like greek gods use to do.
I said he impregnated her, wich is the correct definition considering she got pregnant.
Joseph was legal father but still God was the real father, otherwise would make no sense to call Jesus "the son of god" you would call him "son of joseph".
therefore either Mary is to be considered the "celestial" ( if you prefer ) wife of god or is technically correct to assume Jesus as a B....... ( i don't write it down fully to not appear too rude but you got the point i suppose ).

you call it yourself "The holy family", a christian family is a mother, a father and one or more sons, therefore she must be that.