What is monotheism and how did it come about?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Today in the world there is a huge number of different religions, traditions, mystical and philosophical schools, teachings, cults, organizations. And even a person far from all this somehow heard the term "monotheism". Interestingly, a direct synonym for this word is "monotheism". But how is this term to be understood? What does it include? What is monotheism?

Definition

It should be noted that monotheism is a philosophical, theological (theological) and religious concept. What is monotheism? This is faith in one single Creator God and the fundamental exclusion of faith in any other gods. Also, worship is possible only to one God, but if a person prays to two or more, he already becomes a polytheist (pagan).

Monotheism in the religious understanding

What is monotheism? As already mentioned, this is a synonym for the word "monotheism". There are multiple forms of religion in the world. Faith in one single Creator God is most clearly represented in the Abrahamic religions.(Judaism, Christianity, Islam), one can clearly find similar notes in Iranian Zoroastrianism. Curiously, in some areas of Hinduism there are also monotheistic moments. Religions that recognize only one God always have their founding fathers. Fundamental to such traditions is the belief that they are based on divine and sacred revelation given from above.

History of monotheism

What is monotheism and when did it appear? For the first time, certain elements were discovered when studying the history of Ancient China (the cult of Shang-di - the supreme god), India (the doctrine of a single Creator God Brahma), Ancient Egypt (especially after the reform of King Akhenaten Amenhotep, who introduced the worship of a single god - the Sun), Ancient Babylon (many gods were considered only as manifestations of the supreme deity Marduk). The ancient Jews also had their national tribal god - Sabaoth (Yahweh), who was originally revered along with others, but eventually turned into the One. Christianity, having assimilated and accepted the cult of God the Father (the supreme and only Creator), supplemented it with faith in the "God-Man" Jesus Christ, God the Son. It can be confidently said that the Christian faith is a religion of monotheism, but it is necessary to take into account the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Jewish monotheism in the late sixth and early seventh centuries was adopted by some Arabs from the sect of the so-called Hanifis, where Islam was born. Prophet Mohammed is considered its founder. Monotheism in Islam is more pronounced than in all other religions. Many theories relied on the thesis that monotheism (as the belief in a single supreme Creator God) is the original form of religion, as well as the unambiguous source of all other traditions and teachings. This concept was called "pre-monotheism". Some other theories called monotheism the completion of the evolution of the philosophical and religious thought of mankind, believing that monotheistic teachings will eventually completely supplant all other forms of religion.

Monotheism as a philosophical and theological (theological) concept

In philosophy and theology, this term is close to the word "theism". For the first time it can be found in the Platonist More from Cambridge. Theism meant something equivalent to the term "deism" and the opposite of the concept of "atheism". Only gradually, largely due to the efforts and work of Immanuel Kant, did conceptual differences develop between deism and theism. An innovative point of view was expressed by Hegel, who contrasted monotheism with pantheism, not polytheism. In such a concept as theism, the term "God" means "an absolute spiritual reality transcendent in relation to the material physical world, which acts as a creative single source, while maintaining its presence in the world and having an unlimited degree of influence and influence on it."

Arguments for monotheism

What is monotheism and why is it so common? There are many arguments in favor of this teaching.

1. If there were more than one God, then there would beconfusion due to the many authorities and creative workers. Since there is no disorder, there is only one God.
2. Since the Creator is a perfect person with absolute consciousness, there can be no other God, since by definition he would be less perfect.
3. Because the Lord is infinite in his existence, it means that he cannot have any parts. If there is a second infinite personality, then it will be different from the first, and the only complete difference from infinity is the absence. Therefore, the second God would have to not exist at all.
4. The theory of evolution cannot know the real state of things, since the type of development it describes does not occur in nature. In fact, one can observe historical progress towards monotheism.