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Where are the MONOTHEISTS?

charles brough

charles brough

Member
The Jewish books of the Old Testament generally picture their being more than one god. In most of the Biblical books, “they” are referred to far more than “The.” Down below are thirty places in the Old Testament that refer to their being more than one god---references which mean that Judaism cannot be described accurately as a monotheistic faith. It's “God” is really just the tribal god of the Jews.

In contrast, the New Testament speaks of only One God; but at the same time, people pray to both Christ and Mary. That makes them sort of lesser gods. Satan would also qualify for that with, of course, the understanding that he is not worshiped or at least not worshiped in the same way. If Christ, Mary and Satan are not also gods, what are they? One can call them “spirits” but that just makes them “little gods.”
Islam also pictures a universe filled with demons and angels. It also describes Mohamed as “perfect” and as being transported to Heaven where he was stated as conferring with both God and Christ in “Heaven.” Again, that makes him a sort of “little god.”

So, to be accurate, the “Three Religions of the Book” are really faiths which include a Supreme Being, faiths that can honestly only be described as near-monotheisms.

THIRTY REFERENCES TO MORE THAN ONE GOD: Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 Exodus 12:12, 15:11, 18:11, 20:3,5, 22:20, 28, 23:13, 24, 32, 34:14 Numbers 33:4 Deuteronomy 6:14-15, 10:17, 28:14 Joshua 24:14 Judges 11:24 Samuel 6:5, 28:131 Chronicles 16:25Psalm 82:1: 82:6, 86:8, 96:4, 97:7, 136:2 Jeremiah 1:16, 10:11
 
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angellous_evangellous

Guest
Yeah, I've thought for a while that Christian monotheism is only "monotheistic" because Christian apologists say that it is. It may seem intellectually dishonest to have Father, Son, Holy Spirit as three persons but be only one God, but the continuity between the singular Creator and singular Father, Son, Holy Spirit is very important in Christian traditions. While you may classify Mary and angels as lessor gods, Christian's don't, so that is a moot point.

I call Christianity a "false monotheism" because it is monotheistic only after a thousand logicial leaps.
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
And what about other gods like Baal?

What I've read of the OT, along with Karen Armstrong's book The Great Transformation and a few web sources, made me realize that Elijah doesn't really say that God is the only god that exists, but more that God is the only god that Israelites need to worship. There's no particular reason I can see to say that the roots of Judaism weren't henotheistic (i.e. belief in many gods, but worship of one) rather than monotheistic.
 
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TheWhiteWizard

One
Well, to answer your questions Christ is not a "little god" he is God. That is a basic Christian beleif, One God, Three Persons. Mary is venerated because she is the Mother of Jesus, she is not conferred god-like status, she is just the most venerated of all humans. Satan was an angel in the beginning, now a fallen angel. Angels are immortal spirits, they are not "little gods."

Genesis 1:26 I take to refer to the us in that as God and the angels. And in Exodus 12:12 it is talking about the gods of Egypt. Numbers 33:4 is referring to the Egyptian gods, not the Hebrews. Those passages do not contradict the fact that the "People of the Book" are monotheists.
 
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Rolling_Stone

Well-Known Member
The "problem" is (to me) quite obvious. It is difficult to grasp how the One (infinity) can include the many without violating its essential unity. Expressing the understanding in language is confusing because language is essentially dualistic: something is this and therefore not that--God is one and therefore not many. But God, being infinite, is both and neither. Language therefore has difficulty expressing the relation between the essential unity of infinity and the apparent many-ness of diversity.
 
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Random

Well-Known Member
God is One and the One is Many. Also, what Rolling Stone said. I miss him posting frequently...:)
 
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