Christians are polytheists?

[Teritos]

I often hear Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses say to Christians, "You are not monotheists, you are polytheists" And I see how some Christians try to defend the status as monotheists, and I wonder why? For it doesn't matter if you are a monotheist or a polytheist, what matters is which God you believe in. I as a Christian say I believe in 100 Gods, but these 100 Gods do not contradict each other in their divine nature, they are one and harmonize with each other. So I am a polytheist, but I as a Christian can say that as a polytheist I will stand victorious in the end, because I believe that God became man and was crucified and was raised, which is of course my personal belief.

 

[PureX]

An omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God would by definition be as "polytheistic" as we humans are "poly-perceptual".

In the end the debate between poly- and mono-theism is just incidental sophistry, as all the religions ultimately recognize an ultimate singular divine source regardless of how many individual divine manifestations they identify.

 

[Teritos]

the bible teaches polytheism.

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image.

Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember also your Creators in the days of your youth.

Isaiah 54:5
For your husbands are your Makers, Whose name is Yahweh of armies.

In most Bible translations the singular form is used, but this is not correct, the words "creators, husbands, makers" in the respective verses are plural in Hebrew.

 

[Windwalker]

I often hear Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses say to Christians, "You are not monotheists, you are polytheists" And I see how some Christians try to defend the status as monotheists, and I wonder why? For it doesn't matter if you are a monotheist or a polytheist, what matters is which God you believe in. I as a Christian say I believe in 100 Gods, but these 100 Gods do not contradict each other in their divine nature, they are one and harmonize with each other. So I am a polytheist, but I as a Christian can say that as a polytheist I will stand victorious in the end, because I believe that God became man and was crucified and was raised, which is of course my personal belief.

That sounds more like henotheism, rather than polytheism. Henotheism believes in many gods, but worships only one. Polytheism worships more than one.

 

[Teritos]

That sounds more like henotheism, rather than polytheism. Henotheism believes in many gods, but worships only one. Polytheism worships more than one.

100 Gods who are one in their divine nature, doesn't sound like Henotheism.

 

[Rival]

Deut 4:35,
You have been shown, in order to know that the Lord He is God; there is none else besides Him.

4:39,
And you shall know this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else.

32:39,
See now that it is I! I am the One, and there is no god like Me! I cause death and grant life. I strike, but I heal, and no one can rescue from My Hand!

II Samuel 7:22,
Therefore You are great, O' Lord God: for there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isaiah 43:10,
"You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "and My servant whom I chose," in order that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me no god was formed and after Me none shall be.

It goes on and on.

 

[Teritos]

Deut 4:35,
You have been shown, in order to know that the Lord He is God; there is none else besides Him.

4:39,
And you shall know this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else.

32:39,
See now that it is I! I am the One, and there is no god like Me! I cause death and grant life. I strike, but I heal, and no one can rescue from My Hand!

II Samuel 7:22,
Therefore You are great, O' Lord God: for there is none like You, neither is there any God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isaiah 43:10,
"You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "and My servant whom I chose," in order that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me no god was formed and after Me none shall be.

It goes on and on.

if the bible says, there is only one God, it means: God has always the same character. If I believe in 100 Gods who don't contradict each other but are one, it harmonizes with the whole Bible.

 

[Windwalker]

100 Gods who are one in their divine nature, doesn't sound like Henotheism.

I agree that the various gods are actually just different faces of the Divine Reality. God beyond God, is the Source of all our beliefs about God. But people who are still "babes" or are just conditioned to think that way, need to see God or the gods as external entities, beings outside of themselves, and they take that very literally. Understanding that they are all simply different faces of the One Divine Reality to speak to parts of our own perceptual experiences of reality, with things like masculine and feminine dualities, is something that comes much further down that rabbit hole of spiritual discovery.

It is as you say, but just like "God above", people imagine the Father as some guy in the sky, literally. It's all about how the mind translates Reality into our own perceptions of lower case r reality, or relative reality. In the Absolute, there is no God. God beyond God, is the Ground of what we call God, and imagine it as other to us. We are rather confused about this, if we expect to understand it literally.

 

[Rival]

if the bible says, there is only one God, it means: God has always the same character. If I believe in 100 Gods who don't contradict each other but are one, it harmonizes with the whole Bible.

No.

No it doesn't.

 

[Windwalker]

if the bible says, there is only one God, it means: God has always the same character. If I believe in 100 Gods who don't contradict each other but are one, it harmonizes with the whole Bible.

It seems you are saying you believe all beliefs about God has a common connecting theme. All saying the same thing more or less. Correct?

If so, what you are trying to express may be what is found in the Perennial Philosophy. Perennial philosophy - Wikipedia

 

[Teritos]

No.

No it doesn't.

We have two different interpretations.

But look at the translation of Jeff Benner to the Shema Israel.

Israel, pay careful attention and respond: Yahweh works in unity with himself: and you shall act upon your love to YHWH with your thoughts and mind, with your entire body and with everything that you possess.

He uses UNITY instead of ONE. The Bible teaches always that Yahweh is a unity, he consits of many "persons".

 

[sun rise]

Adding on to what @Windwalker has written, this is another "Blind Men and the Elephant" situation.

The intellect, being limited, cannot truly fathom the unlimited. So various perspectives are used to get a hopefully helpful and useful view of the unlimited.

I see value in this as long as the humility of knowing the intellect's limitations is kept in mind.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I often hear Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses say to Christians, "You are not monotheists, you are polytheists" And I see how some Christians try to defend the status as monotheists, and I wonder why? For it doesn't matter if you are a monotheist or a polytheist, what matters is which God you believe in. I as a Christian say I believe in 100 Gods, but these 100 Gods do not contradict each other in their divine nature, they are one and harmonize with each other. So I am a polytheist, but I as a Christian can say that as a polytheist I will stand victorious in the end, because I believe that God became man and was crucified and was raised, which is of course my personal belief.

I think it's fair to say that Trinitarianism is polytheistic, but not all Christians are Trinitarians.

 

[Redemptionsong]

I often hear Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses say to Christians, "You are not monotheists, you are polytheists" And I see how some Christians try to defend the status as monotheists, and I wonder why? For it doesn't matter if you are a monotheist or a polytheist, what matters is which God you believe in. I as a Christian say I believe in 100 Gods, but these 100 Gods do not contradict each other in their divine nature, they are one and harmonize with each other. So I am a polytheist, but I as a Christian can say that as a polytheist I will stand victorious in the end, because I believe that God became man and was crucified and was raised, which is of course my personal belief.

It's an interesting idea, but I have concerns that this could easily be turned against you by those that fail to understand the difference between God's gods and 'foreign' gods.

Psalm 82:6. 'I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.'

John 10:34. 'Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?'

The point being, gods (children of God) still serve God, and exist in the body of Christ as One in Spirit and truth.

Deuteronomy 10:17. 'For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:'

 

[Sirona]

I think it's fair to say that Trinitarianism is polytheistic, but not all Christians are Trinitarians.

I think the difference between monotheism and polytheism is that in monotheism, there is one God who brought an certain order to the world but is yet transcendent from it, whereas in polytheism, you always have "lesser gods" interfering with the will and actions of the Big God, so the world is not seen as "orderly", because the Big God is not fully in control. Yahweh, Jesus and the Holy Ghost didn't interfere with each each other's will and actions, therefore I think it would be wrong to call them three different gods. I would consider Christians who believe in Satan interfering with God's will dualists, but this is quite a different story.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I think the difference between monotheism and polytheism is that in monotheism, there is one God who brought an certain order to the world but is yet transcendent from it, whereas in polytheism, you always have "lesser gods" interfering with the will and actions of the Big God, so the world is not seen as "orderly", because the Big God is not fully in control. Yahweh, Jesus and the Holy Ghost didn't interfere with each each other's will and actions, therefore I think it would be wrong to call them three different gods. I would consider Christians who believe in Satan interfering with God's will dualists, but this is quite a different story.

I'm not that prescriptive. To me:

- monotheism: belief in exactly one god.
- polytheism: belief in more than one god.

3 > 1, so Trinitarians are polytheists.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I often hear Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses say to Christians, "You are not monotheists, you are polytheists" And I see how some Christians try to defend the status as monotheists, and I wonder why? For it doesn't matter if you are a monotheist or a polytheist, what matters is which God you believe in. I as a Christian say I believe in 100 Gods, but these 100 Gods do not contradict each other in their divine nature, they are one and harmonize with each other. So I am a polytheist, but I as a Christian can say that as a polytheist I will stand victorious in the end, because I believe that God became man and was crucified and was raised, which is of course my personal belief.

They believe there is only one creator not more than one. That's been a theme in all abrahamic traditions, christians are no different.

 

[Teritos]

I'm not that prescriptive. To me:

- monotheism: belief in exactly one god.
- polytheism: belief in more than one god.

3 > 1, so Trinitarians are polytheists.

okay, so what? In the end according to the bible, trinitarians are those who enter paradise.

 

[Teritos]

It's an interesting idea, but I have concerns that this could easily be turned against you by those that fail to understand the difference between God's gods and 'foreign' gods.

Psalm 82:6. 'I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.'

John 10:34. 'Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?'

The point being, gods (children of God) still serve God, and exist in the body of Christ as One in Spirit and truth.

Deuteronomy 10:17. 'For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:'

I meant something else.

 

[Windwalker]

I'm not that prescriptive. To me:

- monotheism: belief in exactly one god.
- polytheism: belief in more than one god.

3 > 1, so Trinitarians are polytheists.

Do Trinitarians see the Trinity as three gods? Or are you just confused and think they do, because that's how your thinking would see it that way?