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Compare And Contrast Monotheism And Polytheism

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Theism in the simplest of terms means the belief in at least one god. Whether it be believing in the one true God or believing in a lot of different gods, there is at least one god that is believed in. There are many different branches of theism. There's deism, pantheism, and agnostic theism. There is even atheism which is actually the lack of belief in a god. Two sections of theism that are perhaps the most popular and well-known are monotheism and polytheism. There is a lot of discussion about both of these sectors. Knowing the histories, how they are viewed currently, and exactly what the differences of these two are can help us better understand how these two theisms come into play in the world. The meaning of monotheism derives from the Greek words mono which means "one" and theos which means "god". This is why monotheism is the worship and belief one "true" god. The origin of where monotheism started is not clear. Some say that it started when Moses brought it to the ancient Hebrews. Some say it evolved from polytheism. Others say there is a documented case of monotheism in Egypt during the rule of Akhenaten. Regardless of its origin, monotheism hasn't exactly always been popular. Even now, the idea of …show more content…

There are also moral differences. Monotheistic people believe in absolute truth. They believe they were put on Earth for a specific purpose. They want to fulfill this purpose, and they will do anything to fulfill this purpose so that they can achieve eternal salvation. Polytheistic people, however, believe that they should have more freedom in how they worship. They believe they can worship who they want how they want. Unlike monotheistic people, polytheists believe they have no accountability on this Earth. They don't believe they were put here for a specific purpose. They also do not believe in any possibility of having eternal

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Monotheism- The belief that there is only one god. This was important at the time because most people believed there was more than one god. 29. Phoenicians- Spoke a Semitic language and settled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Lebanon Mountains.

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In the time period, the world was full of polytheistic religions, like the Ancient Egyptian religion, and therefore the transition from henotheism to monotheism was extremely significant in history. The start of this transition can be seen in the story of Noah’s ark, especially in comparison to the flood from the Epic of Gilgamesh. These two stories are undeniably linked and share many similarities. An important difference between the two is that the Mesopotamian story contains many gods and the Biblical story only contains one God. Creation myths are essential to a religion because they give an explanation for the origins of the world, and usually revolve around certain deities.

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In polytheism, there are many gods to worship. Having many gods helps explain certain events that are unknown by creating myths. Polytheism was the majority of the population so it was quite easy to follow. Being polytheistic benefited the Assyrians because they were easy to conquer and add gods such as Ashur, a militant sun god. Monotheism wasn’t followed widely and was set apart from everyone else which made them unique.

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The Sumerians practiced polytheism, the belief in more than one god. Sumerians believed these gods controlled every aspect of life, including rain, wind, and other elements of nature. 12 In larger Sumerian cities, temples were pyramid-shaped brick towers known as ziggurats. They rose upward in steps, with each level smaller than the one below.

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These variations like a true God, and the divine were more focused on nature than a single being. At that time, they would characterize these beliefs as deism.

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Even though they’re so many gods, individuals usually have a stronger connection to a particular god of their choosing, and not to every single god. Each Hindus religious path is a little bit different. I don’t think one could classify Hinduism in a way that would universalize whether it is a polytheistic or monotheistic religion. All gods in this religion are smaller deities to the greater Brahman, making this monotheistic, but then it is also polytheistic because there is truly the supreme belief in one major God. Hinduism only seems hard to understand because it deals more with one’s life then ones actual practice or belief of the religion.

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They have very many different beliefs. They are both very unique though. These are very interesting religions to write about and I enjoyed

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Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society.

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In ancient time Romans used to be strictly polytheists and later transitioned into being monotheists. In ancient times a Roman emperor Servius Tullius built a temple for goddess Diana according to an article on Roman-Empire. The emperor building a temple for a goddess in order to connect to her is not something people do on a day to day basis. Seeking the goddess was told to bring him wellbeing so he followed the orders he got in his dream and built her a temple. The gods and goddess of the Romans came from being , “A blend of several religious influences.

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In the history of the hebrews the religion has displayed a remarkable adaptability and continuity. Starting when God flooded the world and spared nobody but Noah and his family, when God had Abraham leave Mesopotamia and settle in the land of the Canaanites, And when God had Moses lead his people out of slavery and into the promised land. All of these points change the face of the Hebrew culture and their religion. The Hebrews history was remarkable which they managed to survive as people and as a culture. From the Hebrews point of view the whole purpose was to illuminate their relationship with God When God was in the picture with the Hebrews things became different, God did not allow more than one god which is called monotheism.

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People all over the world worship many gods, goddesses, and other higher beings. Some religions are monotheistic, worship one god or goddess, others are polytheistic, worship multiple gods and goddesses. The Igbo tribe is polytheistic because they worship many gods, goddesses, and spirits; such as, they worship a god named Chukwu, two minor gods, a minor goddess, and six different spirits. The first and most important being they worship, as stated by world eras, is a god named Chukwu.

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In all these religions, God is the supreme-being whose power is never questionable (Fisher 247). However, there are different views on the monotheistic God from each of these religions. For example, Zoroastrianism views God as the source of good and not evil at any single instance. On the contrary, Judaists and Christians see God as the source of both evil and good. Moreover, the recognition of God as monotheistic was founded on the revelation key prophets received in each faith.

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Christianity and Judaism are both monotheistic religions that share many similarities. Both religions were found in present day Israel and share a common writing. They shared the same Ten Commandments; Torah for the Jews and the Old Testaments for the Christians. Even though they are common in many different ways, they are also very different. Their marriage rites, rituals and the meaning of life are different.

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Ancient people being unaware about the outside world created for themselves the hierarchy of Gods to ask for protection and support. Example: Paganism had a tendency to be polytheistic. People worshipped a variety of gods and goddesses, spirits representing national and local heroes, as well as natural phenomena. Pagans also honored their ancestry and ancestors.

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By making them one in the same being, it would not conflict with monotheism (or perhaps cause less of a conflict) and would not lead to the worship of more than one god. As mentioned above, the only other discrepancy between monotheism and henotheism, which are simply fixed by seeing the biblical verses based in monotheism as an extension to the ambiguous verses that some see as supporting

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