• Albanian: monoteizmi
• Arabic: (tawħidiyyä)
• Bosnian: monoteizam, jednoboštvo
• Bulgarian: монотеизъм
• Catalan: monoteisme
• Chinese: 一神教 (yishenjiao)
• Croatian: monoteizam, jednoboštvo
• Czech: monoteismus
• Danish: monoteisme
• Dutch: monotheism
• Estonian: monoteism
• Finnish: monoteismi
• French: monothéisme
• German: Monotheismus
• Greek: μονοθεϊσμός
• Hungarian: egyistenhit
• Icelandic: eingyðistrú
• Indonesian: monoteisme
• Japanese: 一神教 (いっしんきょう, isshinkyō)
• Korean:

  일신교 (一神教, ilsingyo) (in a specific faith)

  일신론 (一神論, ilsinron) (generally)

• Latin: monotheïsmus
• Macedonian: монотеизам
• Persian: (yektāparasti), (touhid)
• Polish: monoteizm
• Portuguese: monoteísmo
• Romanian: monoteism
• Russian: монотеизм
• Serbian:

  Cyrillic: монотеизам , једнобоштво

  Roman: monoteizam , jednoboštvo

• Slovak: monoteizmus , jednobožstvo
• Slovene: monoteizem
• Spanish: monoteísmo
• Swedish: monoteism
• Turkish: tektanrıcılık, monoteizm
• Ukrainian: монотеїзм
• Urdu: (tauhīd)

For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album)

In theology, monotheism (from Greek "one" and "god") is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in the oneness of God. In a Western context, the concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of the god of the Abrahamic religions and the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The concept of monotheism has largely been defined in contrast with polytheistic religions, and monotheism tends to overlap with other Unitary concepts, such as monism.

Whereas monotheism is a self-description of religions subsumed under this term, there is no equivalent self-description for polytheist religions: monotheism asserts itself by opposing polytheism, while polytheism does not use the same argumentative device, as it includes a concept of divine unity despite worshipping a plethora of gods. By the same token, monotheistic religions may still include concepts of a plurality of the divine, for example the Trinity, in which God is one being in three personal dimensions (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Additionally, Christians believe Jesus to have two natures (divine and human), each possessing the full attributes of that nature, without mixture or intermingling of those attributes. Although Christian theology reserves worship for the Divine, the distinction between worshipping the divine nature of Jesus but not the human nature of Jesus can be difficult for non-Christians (and even Christian laity) to follow.

Christians of a catholic tradition venerate the Saints among them Mary as human beings that had remarkable qualities, have lived their faith in God to the extreme and continue to assist in the process of salvation for others.

Origin and development

The word monotheism is derived from the Greek, meaning "single" and meaning "god". The English term was first used by Henry More.

The concept sees a gradual development out of notions of henotheism and monolatrism. In the Ancient Near East, each city had a local patron deity, such as Shamash at Larsa or Sin at Ur. The first claims of global supremacy of a specific god date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten (connected to Judaism by Sigmund Freud in his Moses and Monotheism), and, depending on dating issues, Zoroaster's Gathas to Ahura Mazda. Currents of monism or monotheism emerge in Vedic India in the same period, with e.g. the Nasadiya Sukta. Philosophical monotheism and the associated concept of absolute good and evil emerges in Classical Antiquity, notably with Plato (c.f. Euthyphro dilemma), elaborated into the idea of The One in Neoplatonism.

In Islamic theology, a person who spontaneously "discovers" monotheism is called a ḥanīf, the original ḥanīf being Abraham.

Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt in the 1910s postulated an Urmonotheismus, "original" or "primitive monotheism", a thesis now widely rejected in comparative religion but still occasionally defended in creationist circles. In muntaka upanishad of hindu philosophy chapter third describes a story of two birds. one is adma (soul) and another is jeev.(life) jeev eats the fruit of fig tree (Pippala). this story is told to explain even though the life (living being) is doing the worldly things (including sex) it will not affect the soul inside. the following points are coincide. adam and adma. eve and jeev. pipple and bible. fig and fig (not changed). forbidden fruit is forbidden fruit (not changed) upanishads are 5000 years old. bible is 2000 years old. is it possible that this story has taken this new shape in 3000 years?

Varieties

Some argue that there are various forms of monotheism, including:

• Henotheism involves devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Similarly, monolatrism is the worship of a single deity independent of the ontological claims regarding that deity.
• Theism a term that refers to the belief in the existence of a god or divine being.
• Deism is a form of monotheism in which it is believed that one god exists. However, a deist rejects the idea that this god intervenes in the world.
• Monistic Theism is the type of monotheism found in Hinduis, encompassing pantheism, monism, and at the same time the concept of a personal god
• Pantheism holds that the Universe itself is god. The existence of a transcendent supreme extraneous to nature is denied. Depending on how this is understood, such a view may well be presented as tantamount to atheism, deism or panentheism.
• Panentheism, or Monistic Monotheism, is a form of theism that holds that god contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. The 'one god' is omnipotent and all-pervading, the universe is part of god, and god is both immanent and transcendent.
• Substance monotheism, found in some indigenous African religions, holds that the many gods are different forms of a single underlying substance.

On the surface, monotheism is in contrast with polytheism, which is the worship of several deities. Polytheism is however reconcilable with Inclusive monotheism, which claims that all deities are just different names or forms for the single god. This approach is common in Hinduism, e.g. in Smartism. Exclusive monotheism, on the other hand, actively opposes polytheism. Monotheism is often contrasted with theistic dualism (ditheism). However, in dualistic theologies as that of Gnosticism, the two deities are not of equal rank, and the role of the Gnostic demiurge is closer to that of Satan in Christian theology than that of a diarch on equal terms with god (who is represented in pantheistic fashion, as Pleroma).

Early History

In ancient Egypt

Ancient Middle-Eastern religions may have worshipped a single god within a pantheon and the abolition of all others, as in the case of the Aten cult in the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Iconoclasm during this pharaoh's rule is considered a chief origin for the subsequent destruction by some groups of idols, holding that no other god before the preferred deity (dually and subtly acknowledging the existence of the other gods, but only as foes to be destroyed for their drawing of attention away from the primary deity).

Other issues such as Divine Right of Kings may possibly also stem from pharaonic laws on the ruler being the demigod or representative of the Creator on Earth. The massive tombs in the Egyptian pyramids which aligned with astronomical observations, perhaps exemplify this relationship between the pharaoh and the heavens.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is considered to be one of the earliest monotheistic beliefs, but the Zoroastrian definition of monotheism is neither comparable nor compatible with the monotheism of other religions that - in addition to being monotheistic - are also monist.

In Zoroaster's revelation, Ahura Mazda is a transcendental and universal god, the one uncreated Creator (standard appellation) and to whom all worship is ultimately directed. However, Zoroaster also perceives Mazda to be wholly good, and that his creation is wholly good. In conflict with creation is anti-creation, evident in the created world as decay and disorder. Since anti-creation is purely destructive it cannot have been created (otherwise it would self-destruct) and hence must - like the Creator himself - be uncreated.

In the Gathas, Zoroaster does not acknowledge any divinity other than Ahura Mazda. However, the hymns of Indo-Iranian religious tradition (of which the Gathas are a part) are always addressed to a specific divinity and those closely associated with him, and in this sense the Gathas are not (necessarily) a denial of the other divinities, but the exhaltation of a specific one. Although not mentioned by name (in the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is itself an epithet, not yet a proper name), Zoroaster implicitly acknowledges the existence of other Ahuras "Lords", as in "thou who art the mightiest Ahura and the Wise (Mazda) One" (Yasna 33.11). In addition to these lords that are "worthy of worship" (yazata), Zoroaster also refers to the daevas as the 'wrong' gods, or 'false' gods, or gods 'that should not be worshipped' and whose followers are to be brought onto the path of righteousness. In later Zoroastrian tradition, the daevas are demons, but this is not yet evident in the prophet's own poetry.

Zoroastrianism is thus monotheistic inasfar as all worship is ultimately directed to Ahura Mazda. However, unlike Zurvanite Zoroastrianism, neither revealed nor present-day Zoroastrianism is monist. At no time did Zoroastrianism preclude the existence or worship of other divinities, which are today considered to be aspects or evidence of creation and hence of the Creator. The invocation of divinities besides Ahura Mazda is however common practice in Zoroastrian tradition, and is not necessarily either a sign of henotheism (the one extreme interpretation) or the worship of pure abstractions (the other extreme): In the past it was common for an individual, household or clan to adopt a patron divinity and although several attempts have been made to define ancient Zoroastrianism on the evidence of such adoptions - for instance, in inscriptions or in theophoric names - these are inherently unsuitable for that purpose.

Abrahamic religions

see Abrahamic religion

The major source of monotheism in the modern Western World is the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, the source of Judaism, which was created from the 13th century BCE to the 4th century BCE. Judaism may have received influences from various non-biblical religions present in Egypt and Syria. This can be seen by the Torah's reference to Egyptian culture in Genesis and the story of Moses, as well as the mention of Hittite and Hurrian cultures of Syria in the Genesis story of Abraham.

In traditional Jewish thought, which provided the basis of the Christian and Islamic religions, monotheism was regarded as its most basic belief. Judaism and Islam have traditionally attempted to interpret scripture as exclusively monotheistic whilst Christianity diverted to a more complex form of tripartite monotheism, as a result of considering the Holy Spirit to be a part of God, and attributing divinity to Jesus, a Judean Jew, in the first century AD, defining him as the son of God. Thus, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit".

Monotheism in the Hebrew Bible

It is often argued that the Hebrew Bible takes a position not of monotheism, but of henotheism. God reveals himself not as the only god, but rather as the god whom Abraham knows. (Gen 15:7) In such a respect, the god of Israel is not God alone, but the god who was worshipped by Abraham's clan. In this context, the god of Israel is a type of tribal deity, that although was worshipped alone, did not explicitly exclude the existence of other gods, who were not relevant to them.

In the early Mosaic era, the possibility of other gods is left an open question, although by this stage Israel claims that their god is greater. (Ex 18:11) This same subtle shift is shown in 2 Chr 2:5, and could indicate that Israel understood that the god they recognised was God alone, and other gods were therefore false. This would be Monotheism in the proper sense of the word. By the time of the prophet Isaiah, Monotheism is solidly and explicitly accepted. “Thus says the , the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Is 44:6) Thus, the development of the people of Israel to a true Monotheism, appears to be a gradual process, with the exception of Gen 1:1. It is therefore likely that Gen 1:1 was redacted later than the other examples supplied, and so, the development of Monotheism comes firstly on a tribal level, and gradually advances to recognition that the god of Israel is the only god. It is into this context that Christianity emerges, and thus Christianity was from the outset Monotheistic. (John 1:1)

A strictly literal interpretation of Deuteronomy 4:39 excludes the possibility of henotheism. The verse states: "Know this day, and take it to heart, that the is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is none else." According to the view that Deuteronomy is a late addition to the Five Books of Moses, this would reflect the later adoption of monotheism. However, if Deuteronomy is taken to be part of the original text, as it generally is among those who use it as scripture, this would indicate that the monotheistic concept existed from the time the Torah was composed.

In the west, the Hebrew Bible has been the primary source describing how and when Monotheism was introduced into the Middle East and the west. As believed by followers of some of the Abrahamic religions, it teaches that when Abraham discovered God (Genesis 12:1-9 http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=12 ; 13:14-18 http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=13 ; 15 http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=15 18 http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=18 ; and 22 http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=22), he thus became the world's first Monotheist. According to these, until then, in ancient history all cultures believed in a variety of multiple deities such as in idolatry, forces and creatures of nature as in animism, or in celestial bodies as in astrology, but did not know the one and only true god.

However, the Hebrew Bible teaches that, at Creation, Adam and Eve knew God (and so did their descendants) but that over the ages, God and his name were forgotten. This is how one of the most important Jewish sages, Maimonides describes the process in his work the Mishneh Torah:

Jewish view

see Judaism Judaism is one of the oldest known monotheistic faiths. The best-known Jewish statements of monotheism occur in the Shema prayer, the Ten Commandments and Maimonides' 13 Principles of faith, Second Principle:

The Shema

''(1) There is one God from whom emanates one morality for all humanity. (2) God's primary demand of people is that they act decently toward one another...The God of ethical monotheism is the God first revealed to the world in the Hebrew Bible. Through it, we can establish God's four primary characteristics:

1. God is supernatural.
2. God is personal.
3. God is good.
4. God is holy.

...in the study of Hebrew history: Israel's monotheism was an ethical monotheism. Dennis Prager

The literal word meanings are roughly as follows:

• Shema — 'listen' or 'hear.' The word also implies comprehension.
• Yisrael — 'Israel', in the sense of the people or congregation of Israel
• Adonai — often translated as 'Lord', it is used in place of the Tetragrammaton
• Eloheinu — 'our God', a plural noun (said to imply majesty rather than plural number) with a pronominal suffix ('our')
• Echad — 'one'

Christian view

Christians profess belief in one God. Historically, most Christian churches have taught that the nature of God is something of a mystery. Among Early Christians there was considerable debate over the nature of godhead, with some factions arguing for the divinity of Jesus and others calling for a unitary conception of God. These issues of Christology were to form one of the main subjects of contention at the First Council of Nicea.

Islamic view

The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the creation.

Bahá'í view

The Oneness of God is one of the core teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís believe that there is one supernatural being, God, who has created all existence. God is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty."

Eastern religions

Hinduism

and the Nasadiya Sukta, dealing with a creator deity, especially verse 10.129.7:

"He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, / Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not." (trans. Griffith)

Many Hindus believe that God has six attributes. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God, are countless, with the following six qualities being the most important.

• The number six is invariably given, but the individual attributes listed vary. One set of attributes (and their common interpretations) are:
  • Jñāna (Omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
  • Aishvarya (Sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara), which consists in unchallenged rule over all;
  • Shakti (Energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible;
  • Bala (Strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
  • Vīrya (Vigor), or valour which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations; and
  • Tejas (Splendor), which expresses his self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by his spiritual effulgence.; (cited from Bhakti Schools of Vedanta, by Swami Tapasyānanda.)

Monotheism in Vaishnavism

see Bhagavan svayam It is often argued that Vaishnavism is one of the earliest impicit manifistations of exclusive monotheism in the traditions of Vedas. Svayam bhagavan - ( in IAST) is a Sanskrit term for the original deity of the Supreme God worshiped across many traditions of the Vaisnavism as the source of all, the monotheistic absolute Deity.

Sikhism

see Sikhism

Transliteration: Ik ōaṅkār(or ikoo) sat nām karatā purakh nirabha'u niravair akāl mūrat ajūnī saibhaṁ gur prasād.

English: One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Timeless One, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace ~

The Sikhs believe that God has many names - but they call God VāhiGurū. The word Guru means teacher in Sanskrit Similarly, the name Hari, Raam, Allah, Paarbrahm, Krsna which are names of God are frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scriptures. The same god of the Muslims, Hindus, etc is known as the Akal Purakh (which means 'the true immortal', i.e God) or Waheguru, the primal being.

It is also stated in Guru Granth Sahib ji that: Awal Allah Noor Upaya, Kudrat kae sab bandey ek noor tae sabh jag upjaya, kaun bhaley kaun mandey Which means that from that god we all are created nobody is above or beneath anyone.

Notes

Further reading

• Dever, William G.; (2003). Who Were the Early Israelites?, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.
• Silberman, Neil A.; and colleagues, Simon and Schuster; (2001) The Bible Unearthed New York.
• Whitelam, Keith; (1997). The Invention of Ancient Israel, Routledge, New York.
• Hans Köchler, The Concept of Monotheism in Islam and Christianity. Vienna: Braumüller, 1982. ISBN 3-7003-0339-4 (Google Print)

See also

• Abrahamic religion
• Monistic theism
• Kashmir Shaivism
• The People of Monotheism
• Psychology of religion
• Spiritism
• Unitheism
• Hindu views on monotheism
• Demiurg
• Religion
• Theism
• Polytheism
• Atheism
• Bitheism
• Pantheism
• Henotheism

External links

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

acosmism, allotheism, anthropolatry, anthropomorphism, anthropotheism, autotheism, cosmotheism, deism, ditheism, dualism, dyotheism, henotheism, hylotheism, monolatry, multitheism, myriotheism, pantheism, physicomorphism, physitheism, polytheism, psychotheism, tetratheism, theism, theopantism, theriotheism, tritheism, zootheism