Monotheism
by Mark Havenner
Monotheism’s
dictionary definition does no justice to the variants of definitions
and connotations the word carries. Generally speaking, monotheism
simply refers to religions that support the notion that there is only
one god. Most of these religions assert that the god in question is an
all-powerful and supreme one. The largest of today’s world religions
are monotheistic: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. What
about Hinduism? Well, technically, the world’s oldest religion is
polytheistic. Members of that religion revere an entire pantheon of
deities and demigods. However, most modern Hindus believe a much more
complicated version of this watered-down definition of their religion.
All of the deities in Hinduism are actually facets of one. Different
masks or moods of one god. Is
Christianity really monotheistic? It’s not as simple as it sounds.
Believers believe in one god, yes, however there is the Holy Trinity to
contend with. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
These are all just different facets of one god. What is the difference between Hinduism (polytheistic) and Christianity (monotheistic) when one looks at those particulars? The
answer is, modern religions are trying to describe a very difficult
concept. The concept, as mystics will tell you, is that all things are
connected and come from the same stuff. That said, religions will
attempt to worship this “source” by calling it God, or some similar
label. Since these religions are rooted in ancient traditions, it is
common for the dogma to personify this “source” and give it a name and
perhaps personality. Many are compelled to worship this personification
of reality-source in order to better their situation. Although the
reality-source does not “think”, “behave” or “understand” in the way
humans do, we believe it does and so talk to it like we would a
spiritual adviser. Perhaps it is with irony that this application of
faith has the same energetic composition of focus and yields similar
effects upon reality. When
I was first introduced to various teachings from Western Mystics I was
at first discouraged by incessant usage of the word “God” and clear
monotheistic tendencies. Quite simply, I am a polytheist. I believe
that there are, were and always will be people with higher perspectives
on reality than we have and we did, do, and will continue to
mistakingly call them gods. Yet, I kept reading tenured philosophers
speak about God and His omniscience and omnipresence. It almost seemed
that they could not get past an elementary concept and still relied on
ancient belief structures despite progress in other areas. The
fact was I missed the point, not them. It is true that many ancient
mystic organizations use the term God in a monotheistic context,
however these are only words used for lack of better ones. Meaning,
God, literally, refers to the reality-source, the oneness, the
everythingness, etc. Personifying this helps put the image into
perspective for us thinkers. Monotheism is a fog. It is there, but not
touchable. Monotheism is a modern way to describe what Hindus and
Buddhists have been explaining all along. We all come from the same
source. The
danger inherit in Western Mysticism is that we do not have Hindu and
Buddhist terms to describe concepts that most world religions do not
embrace. When we say “God” and talk about a “creator”, it is easy to
jump to the conclusion that we are speaking of the Judeo-Christian God.
There is no other way to describe it and since organizations have been
describing as such for thousands of years, it is very difficult to
invent terms that better explain it. The
specific difference between the religious and the mystic as that the
religious worship the personification of reality, whereas the mystic
attempts to understand reality through personification. 
Monotheism by Mark Havenner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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