Is Christianity polytheistic?

[Katzpur]

Didn't see this one somehow.

What i would like to know is, if all the other gods in the bible are false gods, what makes YHWH different? You're gonna say, "Well, he's the real God" (you might not have said that, but i find it likely) but then you must think, how can you be sure? Why can't they all be real gods, it just happened that YHWH wrote a book saying He was the real God?
I mean, if you were a god vying for worshipping priviledges, you're going to say "Don't listen to those guys, their false gods, listen to me i'm the only proper God."

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 says, "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him..."

To me, that's a perfect explanation. There are being called gods (lower-case 'g'), not only on earth, but in heaven. While they may have whatever qualities are required to be divine, they do not in any way have any influence over our universe. Are they "true" gods or "false" gods? I guess that's all in how you want to define a "false god." Do they really exist? My opinion is that they do, so in that respect they are "true gods." Are we answerable to them? No. Can they hear and answer our prayers? No. Do they hold our eternal salvation in their hands? No. Should we worship them? No. Are they they "false gods"? Yes, with respect to us, they are false gods. "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things..."

 

[Halcyon]

They why did you create mankind for? I'm curious.

~Victor

Ah now Victor, you are making a huge assumption here. You are assuming that this god, YHWH, created mankind. Why? Because he said so.

Now, i accept your right to believe him. But, you must admit that just because someone says something, doesn't necessarily mean that it is true.

To answer your question, i didn't say that i (as in god) created mankind, i just said that if i were a god, i wouldn't pretend to be the only one. (i'm confusing myself here)

Neither do i believe YHWH created mankind, nor do i believe he is the one true or only God. In otherwords, i believe he is a liar.

 

[kjb31889]

i've always wondered about this...is jesus god or the son of god?...or is he just a regular human prophet?...are we really supposed to worship jesus or was jesus's intent for us to alone worship god?...was Mary really a Virgin? (thats not even possible technically speaking) did Jesus even rise to heaven? or did the Romans take is body out of where he was originally laid for some reason?...there are reports that there were half a dozen individuals in Israel during Jesus's time doing the same thing he was doing..why would god come to earth as a regular in dividual and not as a king?...if he wanted everyone's attention to make note the the supposed "true" religion, why was this presence aloof to all except his deciples?...who are his deciples anyways really and can we trust and on what basis?...who knows that they might have just been drunk and think they saw jesus rise into heaven - wine was a very popular drink in the roman times...respond

 

[Buttons*]

Is Christianity a polytheistic religion?

Why not?

 

[Ody]

the do worship jesus a demi god due to the fact he has both human blood and that of the divine

 

[Scott1]

Is Christianity polytheistic? My basis for this is that the Devil is treated as a God, he is even indirectly assumed to be more powerful in influencing people than God is. I see two Gods. What do you think?

This oughta clear this up:

"We firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one true God, eternal infinite and unchangeable, incomprehensible, almighty and ineffable, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple."

Lateran Council IV (1215)

 

[Fluffy]

One God, in three persons, monotheistic.

Is there a meaningful difference, from our point of view, between 3 different deities and 1 deity expressed in 3 different ways that are distinguishable from each other?

 

[Surya Deva]

Christianity is as polytheistic as Hinduism. It believes, there are other deities, but that are an aspect of the holy trinity(the father, the son and the holy spirit) of monoistic god. Just like Hindus believe in devas(demi gods) as aspects of a monoistic god.

The real god of Christianity is the holy spirit, that pervades the father, the son, other souls and the whole universe. It is very much identical to Hinduism in that aspect.

From how I understand, but correct me if I'm wrong. The holy spirit is the causality, the father is the cause, and Jesus is the form god takes to incarnate on Earth. So in essence, worshipping Jesus, is akin to worshipping the father and the holy spirit.

 

[Elphineas]

Christianity is Henotheistic. Not all Henotheists are Christians - I'm not. Henotheism is described as being "monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact" (wiki). Henotheists acknowlegde the existence of many Gods, but usually only worship one at a time. Sometimes they worship only the Gods within a certain pantheon while accepting the existence of other Gods in other pantheons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism

Scroll down on that page ^^^ to see how Henotheism ties in with Christianity and Judaism. I'd say that out of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Islam is the "truest" in terms of monotheism.

 

[Ody]

They do worship jesus.... and jesus is from god and humanity, so that makes him by strict definition a demi god, so if one religion has a demi god and a full god isn't it polytheistic?