I Think I'm a Monotheist

[Deeje]

what do you think causes evil and suffering in this world? I'm at a loss to know what it might be.

I believe that the Bible has the only answer to that question. God allows it for his own purpose. For me that explanation puts everything in perspective. He gives us the reasons.

I don't believe the Christian view. I have known too many Christians who twisted and turned every word in the Bible to their own desires. They are supposed to believe in love and unity but many are entirely the opposite.

You can't judge Christianity by the ones who don't practice it.....you look for the ones who do. Jesus said that "wheat and weeds" (real Christians and fake ones) would be growing together in the same field (the world) and in this time period, a harvest would take place to identify the fakes and remove them. If you have already identified the fakes, then you are half way there. All you have to do is find the real ones. How do you do that?

I believe that the apostle John in quoting Jesus' words gives us the answer....

John 6:44....
"No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him," and in verse 65 he reiterates....."This is why I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

So it is not us choosing God as much as he is choosing us. Only God can grant the correct understanding. How will we know? In a world where religious delusion is rife, we won't know until the end comes.....but we can rest assured that God has already evaluated each one of us based on our response to the Christian message that is being preached in all the earth. ( Matthew 24:14) We can't make the claim of being "saved" until it actually happens. God allows us to keep the delusions that we love. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Only those who love the unpopular truth will have a sure hope of salvation. (John 18:19-20)

 

[HonestJoe]

I am fairly new to the forums. When I signed up, I said that I was a Pantheist but then saw that Pantheists supposedly don't pray and don't really believe in a God working in this world. I very much do. I have a very miraculous life--some people would say many coincidences (of the good kind). So, I'm still debating what to call my religion. The only thing I can come up with is Monotheist. If anyone can help me to figure it out, I would be very appreciative.

You’re a “Diana Montgomery”. Why would you need any other label?

Seriously, trying to fit your beliefs in to any of the pigeonholes defined by other people is rarely beneficial to anyone. You’ll just find yourself compromising on how you describe your beliefs, apologising for entirely different people who take or have been given the same label and constantly saying things like “I’m an X but…”.

The various labels are used for all sorts of different purposes but, ironically, it is rarely to actually understand what an individual believes. In practice, you won’t often need to define your entire worldview anyway. Most circumstances only require an explanation of your view in a specific area or context and any time that would benefit a more general definition should justify something deeper and more detailed than a single category label.

 

[ajay0]

Hello Everyone,

I am fairly new to the forums. When I signed up, I said that I was a Pantheist but then saw that Pantheists supposedly don't pray and don't really believe in a God working in this world. I very much do. I have a very miraculous life--some people would say many coincidences (of the good kind). So, I'm still debating what to call my religion. The only thing I can come up with is Monotheist. If anyone can help me to figure it out, I would be very appreciative.

Thanks

Sikhism is monotheistic and also pantheistic. The Sikhs call God Waheguru, and consider Him all pervasive.

"There is but one all pervading spirit, and it is called the truth, It exists in all creation, and it has no fear, It does not hate and, it is timeless, universal and self-existent! You will come to know it through the grace of the Guru." (SGGS. Pg 1)

I personally subscribe to both pantheism and monotheism.

In Hinduism, Paramahamsa Yogananda states thus....

"The word 'God' means the manifested, transcendental Being beyond creation, but existing in relation to creation. Spirit existed before God. God is the Creator of the universe, but Spirit is the Creator of God."

Here Spirit stands for the all pervasive Nirguna Brahman, while God stands for Saguna Brahman with name and form.

In the yogic philosophy, the Shivalinga as Saguna Brahman is considered the first form to arise when creation occurs, and also the last form before the dissolution of creation.

The Kashi Vishwanath temple in India considers the Shivalinga as representing a cosmic pillar of light.

Interestingly, as per the monotheistic religious sect called the Prajapita Brahmakumaris, the form of the Shiva linga denotes God as a point of light, and who is known as Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda in other religions.

I have written more about this in this thread....

Interesting correlation between God and light in major world religions...

The Prajapita Brahmakumaris is the only spiritual organisation in the world led, administered and taught by women. They have centers all over the world in almost every country, and offer free seven day courses teaching religious philosophy and meditation techniques. They have been awarded 7 UN peace awards for their efforts promoting global peace and harmony, and empowerment of women as leaders and teachers.

Brahma Kumaris - Home

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Monotheism is the belief that there is just one God, who is the creator or source of all that is. The three obvious monotheistic faiths are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But they are not the only monotheistic faiths, nor is the world limited to strict monotheism (and one can argue that Christianity is a kind of muddied monotheism since it is trinitarian).

For example, modern Native American traditional religion is based on Lakota spirituality. This means a combination of monotheism and animism. Wakantanka (Great Spirit) is the Creator, but everything that is has a spirit, even rocks and rivers (this is Animism). Thus in Lakota spirituality, all of nature is sacred. But having a spirit doesn't make something a deity, just as you and I having a spirit doesn't make *us* a deity. The spirit of the wolf or the buffalo is our "brother," not some supreme god.

Deism is a particular form of monotheism where God does not involve himself with humanity. God is instead a kind of "clockmaker" who finishes creating the clock, winds it up, and then just sits back and watches it run by itself.

Pantheism is simply the belief that all the universe is God. The oldest form of panentheism is animism, where a divine essense permeates everything. Sometimes it is called mana, a kind of force or energy. Sometimes it is spirit. In some cultures, animism evolves into polytheism (many gods), where the spirits are given form, as in an idol, and names. Whole pantheons of deities are formed for different animals, forces of nature, and powerful abstractions. In some forms of Pantheism, a unified essense is sensed that is the source underlying the universe, such as the Tao.

Panentheism is an interesting idea that God, or the Divine, is everything in the universe, but also beyond that. All that is, and more. God encompasses the world, but is not limited to it. In this view, the rock is God, the tree is God, you and I are God, but God is also the personal God that can be prayed to and who can intervene with miraculous answers. I can't think of any religion that is Panentheistic per say, so much as that there are many religions that have individuals or groups in them that are panentheistic.

A note should be said about Hinduism. Hinduism is the oldest surviving world religion on the planet. It has undergone many significant changes/alterations as it has been exposed to new religions. Depending on the individual Hindi, it can be polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnosticism, humanism, and even atheism / nontheism.