The World is Polytheistic

[PsychoticEpisode]

When you come right down to it, the people of Earth are still polytheistic. To say they are not would mean that all the monotheistic religions out there worship the same god. It is also not beyond the stretch of imagination that any polytheistic religion that has a number 1 god is referring to one and the same. Would you not agree?

Either the god(s) of every religion on Earth is the same god for each or monotheism dies right here.

 

[S.A.M.]

I believe the worlds religions are cultural expressions of theism, ie, the origin is lost and what we see now is through the filter of thousands of years of cultural expression.

for example this is an Egyptian hymn:

One, the maker of all things, the Spirit, the hidden Spirit, the maker of Spirits. He existed in the beginning, when nothing else was. What is created He made after he came into being. . No man knoweth how to find Him; His name is a mystery and is hidden. His names are innumerable. He is truth, He liveth on truth, He is the king of truth. He is life, through Him man liveth; He giveth life to man, He breathed life into his nostrils . . He Himself is existence; He neither increaseth or diminisheth. He made the universe, the world, what was, what is and what shall be . . . He heareth him who calleth on Him, He rewardeth his servants, those who acknowledge Him He knoweth, He protecteth His followers.

http://books.google.com/books?id=w9...ts=LyZUMC2xJL&sig=CZa19Fg_JjzbIl_P-FPnXwITg_0


This is a hymn from the Rig Veda

Visvakarman (The All-Maker)
Rig Veda 10.81-82

The sage, our father, who took his place as priest of
the oblation and offered all these worlds as oblation,
seeking riches through prayer, he entered those who were
to come later, concealing those that went before.
What was the base, what sort of raw matter was there,
and precisely how was it done, when the All-Maker,
casting his eye on all, created the earth and
revealed the sky in glory?
With eyes on all sides and mouths on all sides,
with arms on all sides and feet on all sides,
the One God created the sky and the earth,
fanning them with his arms.

http://www.geocities.com/dmathew1/weeklyx0.htm

The oldest known Chinese traditions support a monotheistic belief

Shangdi (上帝, pinyin: Shàngdì, Wade-Giles Shang Ti) is the Supreme God in the original religious system of the Han Chinese people (see traditional Chinese religion), a term used from the second millennium BC to the present day, as pronounced according the modern Mandarin dialect.

From the earliest times of Chinese history, and especially from the Zhou Dynasty (周朝)(1122 BC to 256 BC) onwards, another name, Tian (天), is also used to refer to the Supreme God of the Chinese people (see Heaven worship). Tian is a word with multiple meanings in the ancient Chinese language, it can either mean the physical sky or the presiding God of Heaven.

 

[SkinWalker]

While you're assertion that the world's religions are polytheistic may be true, the premise that you've suggested to support that conclusion isn't sound. It would be analogous to saying that people of the world are all polygamous. To say that they are not would mean that all monogamous marriages involve marriage to the same person.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Not many people believe they are married. It usually takes some ceremony, act or official document to confirm it. That's all I'm asking, confirm one god fits all or forget about monotheism. This is global, not regional.

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

I believe the worlds religions are cultural expressions of theism, ie, the origin is lost and what we see now is through the filter of thousands of years of cultural expression.

It is your belief then that one entity represents the godhead for every theistic religion?

 

[tablariddim]

Only the essence of the single God is universal, but it rarely works out in practice, due to different belief and worship systems. It's like water being the universal essence of the single god of beverage, but coke is different to tea to juice to coffee etc.

 

[S.A.M.]

It is your belief then that one entity represents the godhead for every theistic religion?

Of course, and this philosophy is the basis of Islam.

Muslims... do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

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

 

[S.A.M.]

Only the essence of the single God is universal, but it rarely works out in practice, due to different belief and worship systems. It's like water being the universal essence of the single god of beverage, but coke is different to tea to juice to coffee etc.

Excellent analogy!

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Of course, and this philosophy is the basis of Islam.

I don't belief theism is exclusive to monotheism so polytheist godhead figures should also be included, no?

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

Only the essence of the single God is universal, but it rarely works out in practice, due to different belief and worship systems. It's like water being the universal essence of the single god of beverage, but coke is different to tea to juice to coffee etc.

As for a single god being the god of beverages(plural), the monotheistic god is the god of all religions. You could say that god and his essence is a total package.

 

[tablariddim]

the monotheistic god is the god of all religions. .

Sure, but you can see, hear, feel and taste the difference(s).

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

There are many polytheistic religions still in practice around the world. Between that and the monotheistic, one has branched off or changed. Now is it reasonable to assume mankind was originally polyT? In the OT God destroyed every religion other than the Judeo with the flood, or whatever flood is a metaphor for. Yet polytheism still thrives meaning monoT's changed at sometime since. Why would they do this?

 

[lightgigantic]

When you come right down to it, the people of Earth are still polytheistic. To say they are not would mean that all the monotheistic religions out there worship the same god. It is also not beyond the stretch of imagination that any polytheistic religion that has a number 1 god is referring to one and the same. Would you not agree?

Either the god(s) of every religion on Earth is the same god for each or monotheism dies right here.

you could also similarly say that there are literally billions of suns that shine on the earth, since if you ask a billion people at midday where the sun is they will all answer "dierctly above my head"

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

So your god is or was all those other gods?

 

[SnakeLord]

you could also similarly say that there are literally billions of suns that shine on the earth, since if you ask a billion people at midday where the sun is they will all answer "dierctly above my head"

That's really dumb and, needless to say, irrelevant.

For some reason you need more help and guidance than anyone else so here it is. What is being said is:

Either we have a polytheistic world, (people worshipping many different gods: allah, vishnu, yhwh, jesus etc), or you're all worshipping the exact same thing, (monotheism).

So, the god of every religion must ultimately be the exact same entity otherwise it's polytheism all the way.

Need me to draw a picture?

 

[lightgigantic]

So your god is or was all those other gods?

not necessarily
since there could be communities of personalities higher up in the hierarchy

for instance the "cargo cult" phenomena developed in the pacific islands amongst tribes people who, due to the sudden influx of WW2 planes, jeeps and ships, established them as worshipable entities

(the islanders simply took the greatest thing of their experience to be god - which is a natural tendency - but in no way insures that one's worshipable object is actually worshipable in the absolute sense)

 

[lightgigantic]

That's really dumb and, needless to say, irrelevant.

For some reason you need more help and guidance than anyone else so here it is. What is being said is:

Either we have a polytheistic world, (people worshipping many different gods: allah, vishnu, yhwh, jesus etc), or you're all worshipping the exact same thing, (monotheism).

So, the god of every religion must ultimately be the exact same entity otherwise it's polytheism all the way.

Need me to draw a picture?

needless to say, your attempt to reduce the scenario to two options certainly reveals your prejudices

eg - what would happen in the circumstance of a person who encountered an angel and mistook them for god

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

needless to say, your attempt to reduce the scenario to two options certainly reveals your prejudices

eg - what would happen in the circumstance of a person who encountered an angel and mistook them for god

Snakelord understands the premis of this thread, why can't you?

Either the one true monotheistic god represents every god that ever was or monotheism is dead in the water.

If you're trying to say the polytheists made their gods up or there was mistaken identity, well I think you know what comes next.

 

[lightgigantic]

Snakelord understands the premis of this thread, why can't you?

Either the one true monotheistic god represents every god that ever was or monotheism is dead in the water.

or alternatively the perception of a great entity was factual but establishing the worship of them as absolute is not

If you're trying to say the polytheists made their gods up or there was mistaken identity, well I think you know what comes next.

so either we have to fanatically accept all religious accounts or fanatically deny them?

 

[PsychoticEpisode]

so either we have to fanatically accept all religious accounts or fanatically deny them?

Pretty much.

Roll your eyes all you want. You're telling everyone there is one true god, the standard monotheist platform. Immediately one has to assume that any other monotheistic religion that ever was or still is in existence also shares the same god, it can't be anything different unless as you say the other religions' gods are a result of mistaken identity which you have to admit is a real stretch. You might as well tell the Muslims they've mistaken some other lesser entity as their god. But you guys haven't.....right ok. If I posed the same questions to the Muslims they could mimic yours words and then we're left with 2 gods... hardly monotheistic.