Question about polytheism and monotheism.

[Theweirdtophat]

What I find strange is the monotheistic religions don't believe in multiple deities yet their holy books suggest there were more than one deity. In the past, it suggested there were more than one as Jews seemed to have worshipped other deities besides Yahweh until it strictly became monotheistic. but even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

 

[Quintessence]

Consider the historical era when these texts were written. Mainstream culture was overwhelmingly polytheistic back then, and monotheism was a new idea. Monotheisms began as henotheism, and only later transitioned into the sort of exclusivist monotheisms we see today. But there are others who are far more well appraised on the history of the one-god than I; I'd defer to them for a more exhaustive and thorough treatment of the subject. Karen Armstrong's "History of God" was a book I skimmed through a few years ago, and might make a good read if you'er interested in exploring this more.

 

[Rival]

I wish you'd put 'Abrahamic Religions' instead of Monotheistic Religions, for this topic. Religions evolve; in the past folks didn't seem to think of their Religions as static, unchangeable - Religion was part of culture and culture evolved. It's about which Religious Philosophy worked at the time, which god or gods fit the politics of the day, what sort of land you lived in and so on. Religious evolution is normal, and going from many gods to one god happened frequently in ancient times. Many folks appeared to have adopted Henotheism, not outright Monotheism, for a large part of history, including the Hebrews.

I also read "A History of God" about three times.

 

[The Hammer]

What I find strange is the monotheistic religions don't believe in multiple deities yet their holy books suggest there were more than one deity. In the past, it suggested there were more ona one as Jews seemed to have worshipped other deities besides Yahweh until it strictly became monotheistic. but even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

I made a similar thread to this not to long ago. But it seems @Quintessence hit the nail on the head. The type of monotheism we see today is a fairly new invention.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

... even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

Nonsense. One can worship other deities whether or not they exist.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

I made a similar thread to this not to long ago. But it seems @Quintessence hit the nail on the head. The type of monotheism we see today is a fairly new invention.

Oh alrighty. What about Hinduism? Some schools of it are monotheistic and Hinduism is really old, even older than Zoroastrianism or Judaism.

Nonsense. One can worship other deities whether or not they exist.

If they worship a deity, obviously they believe they exist, otherwise, why do it?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

If they worship a deity, obviously they believe they exist, otherwise, why do it?

Do you seriously not understand the difference between

• Yahweh suggests the existence … and
• they believe in the existence … ?

Good grief!

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Do you seriously not understand the difference between

• Yahweh suggests the existence … and
• they believe in the existence … ?

Good grief!

My friend, don't be rude. I'm just trying to understand.

We already know Jews worshipped more than one deity. Even Solomon did, but Jews will say that there is no god but God and all others are false gods. But what is a "false god" anyway? Someone who pretends to be a god or a god that leads you to the wrong path? We know Judaism is old but not nearly as old as the Egyptian religion, Hinduism and especially the Sumerian religion which predates all of them, all of which are polytheistic and where Jews got some ideas from.

 

[George-ananda]

What I find strange is the monotheistic religions don't believe in multiple deities yet their holy books suggest there were more than one deity. In the past, it suggested there were more ona one as Jews seemed to have worshipped other deities besides Yahweh until it strictly became monotheistic. but even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

The way I see it Yahweh was saying the One God is the way to go. The statement about 'worshipping other deities' does not address the question on the reality/non-reality of these other deities; it just acknowledges that peopled worshipped them.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

As far as the Jews are concerned, monotheism was introduced gradually by a series of prophets from the 8th to the 6th centuries BC, from Hosea to Isiah. Although the scriptures were edited by the new believers, a lot of old bits got left in. The Moses story is about Yahweh being the patron deity of Israel, just as Khemosh was the patron of the Moabites (see Judges 11), so he told them not to prefer any other god. The idea that he was the only god in existence is only clearly claimed by Isiah.

Incidentally, Christianity is the only "Abrahamic" faith that is not explicitly monotheist. Paul taught that humans were destined to become "partakers in the divine nature"; hence Athenasius's statement "He was incarnate that we might be made God." Also, Augustine wrote that if pagans prefer to talk about gods and Christians to speak of angels, that was no reason for disagreement. This is how many African churches can equate the Christian God to their own Supreme Being, and their local gods to angels.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

In Qur'an Allah swt speaks of other ''dieties'' as Asnaam. The worship of false gods/idols(asnaam) is what polytheists do. They invented these false gods and there is no proof for their existence. As for Allah swt, the universe and all the living is the perfect evidence.

 

[Jumi]

The universe is proof of the universe existing and natural laws. To make it a proof of god would require more, alot more IMO.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

They invented these false gods and there is no proof for their existence.

The proof of the gods' existence is that people experience them: sane, rational people, unlike some of those who worship Allah or Yahweh.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

What I find strange is the monotheistic religions don't believe in multiple deities yet their holy books suggest there were more than one deity. In the past, it suggested there were more than one as Jews seemed to have worshipped other deities besides Yahweh until it strictly became monotheistic. but even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

Arguing with illogical points of the Bible is like taking on 10,000 year old ghosts. If there is divinity, it makes sense that there would only be one for the same reason that angels make no sense. What are angels (lesser gods) except human representations of the manifestations of an omnipotent, omnipresent God?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Oh alrighty. What about Hinduism? Some schools of it are monotheistic and Hinduism is really old, even older than Zoroastrianism or Judaism.

Hindus that are monotheist are inclusive monotheists. There is no "my way and my deity is the one true way/deity and if you disagree, you will or should be punished" in Hinduism. You can have any concept of the Divine that you want and be a Hindu. There's atheist Hindus, polytheist Hindus (of both "soft" and "hard" sorts), monist Hindus, henotheist Hindus, etc, etc.

As for Allah swt, the universe and all the living is the perfect evidence.

Sure. That's why some people, like me, worship the cosmos and what it contains as the manifestation of the Divine.

 

[Caligula]

What I find strange is the monotheistic religions don't believe in multiple deities yet their holy books suggest there were more than one deity. In the past, it suggested there were more than one as Jews seemed to have worshipped other deities besides Yahweh until it strictly became monotheistic. but even Yahweh suggests the existence of other deities, right in the 10 commandments where he says no one shall worship other deities but him. If there only was one deity that existed in the universe, why would Yahweh make a commandement saying "Don't worship other deities but me."?

There's no real monotheistic religion out there if you ask me. Proposing a multitude of worship deserving supernatural entities (one for health, one for fertility, one that protects children etc.) but stating that only one is the most powerful is no different than Zeus being cooler then the rest of the gang. Creation and power are not sufficient premisses for clothing polytheism into a monotheism robe.

 

[Jonathan Sherman]

There's no real monotheistic religion out there if you ask me. Proposing a multitude of worship deserving supernatural entities (one for health, one for fertility, one that protects children etc.) but stating that only one is the most powerful is no different than Zeus being cooler then the rest of the gang. Creation and power are not sufficient premisses for clothing polytheism into a monotheism robe.

How can you say that there is no real monotheistic religion? In Judaism there is only one God, and God is all. He is infinite. Perfect monotheism.

 

[Nietzsche]

How can you say that there is no real monotheistic religion? In Judaism there is only one God, and God is all. He is infinite. Perfect monotheism.

Then why does the Torah & Talmud make direct references to Gods other than YHWH? And not in the 'Manufactured God' sense but as very real beings who would perform works, just as real as YHWH? And even more interestingly, claims that YHWH is only the only God of the Israelites/Hebrews/Jews?

 

[Jonathan Sherman]

Then why does the Torah & Talmud make direct references to Gods other than YHWH? And not in the 'Manufactured God' sense but as very real beings who would perform works, just as real as YHWH? And even more interestingly, claims that YHWH is only the only God of the Israelites/Hebrews/Jews?

A very good question. Unfortunately I don't know the answer. I'll have to read about it some more.

 

[Nietzsche]

Sure. That's why some people, like me, worship the cosmos and what it contains as the manifestation of the Divine.

That's honestly one of the things in Islam that I find most respectable, how they view the God of Abraham. Allah is everything, something stated multiple times. Whereas Christian depictions of God seem to have him as this almost bipolar being who titters back & forth over intervention & what he actually is.

Islam in that regard is far, far closer to Judaism's interpretation. In Judaism, YHWH is something completely & utterly alien to human perception. An unknowable, unfathomable cosmic force more akin to Yog-Sothoth than anything else. But Islam seems to strike a good balance between making Allah/YHWH more personal, by explicitly stating(and showing) that Allah does understand us, and that we should not fear him(unlike the Judaic & Christian versions).

Three very interesting takes on the God of Abraham, I find.