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Revision as of 14:46, 20 April 2003 by Mkmcconn (talk | contribs) (NPOV the Zoroastrian apologetics)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Monotheism is the belief in a single, universal, all-encompassing deity. Various forms of monotheism exist, including:
- Deism is a form of monotheism in which it is believed that one god exists, but that God does not intervene in the world, beyond what was necessary for him to create it (no answering prayers or causing miracles).
- Pantheism holds that the Universe is God. Depending on how this is understood, such a view may be tantamount to atheism, deism or theism.
- Panentheism is a form of theism that holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. This is also the view of Process theology.
In contrast, see Polytheism, which holds that there are many gods, Tri-theism which teaches that there are three gods -- that is, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are, specifically, three distinct Gods; Dualism which teaches that there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, the one good, and the other evil, as set forth especially in Gnostic systems, such as Parseeism.
Most monotheists would say that, by definition, monotheism is incompatible with polytheism. This is because a belief in multiple gods does not imply the worship of multiple gods. Historically, many polytheists believe in the existence of many gods, but worshipped only one.
Zoroastrianism is considered by some to be the earliest monotheistic view to have evolved among mankind, and theorize that Judaism was influenced by Zoroastrianism as well as by Greek philosophy before arriving at its modern monotheistic view of God. This view is not compatible with the self-understanding of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), which traditionally insist that exclusive monotheism is the original religion of all mankind, all other gods being viewed as idols and creatures which wrongly came to be worshipped as deities.
The Christian belief in the Trinity is monotheism, the worship of the one God of Abraham according to Trinitarian tradition. However, many Jews, Muslims, and unitarian Christians would question this classification.
See also: