Monotheism and polytheism are two very different belief systems. Monotheism is the belief in only one God while polytheism is the belief in more than one God. Monotheism is known as something that is obtained from Judaism. Morality still exists within both of these beliefs. Some of the reasons that caused a shift between monotheism and polytheism are the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, In 587 bc the destruction of the temple Yahweh in Jerusalem, and the Achaemenid empire period in 550 bc.
The first evidence found of monotheism emerged from Egypt during the 14th century. The reign of Akhenaten allowed people to worship several Gods, as the Egyptian kings always have. By the fifth year of this reign, the worship of Aten was the only recognized
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Many superiors were taken to Babylon and as a result, this created a long period of the Jewish dispersion in places such as Mesopotamia lasting until after World War II. A greater emphasis is on Yahweh while all of the other Gods are shunned upon negatively. The theology began to be monotheistic after the exile in Babylon. This may have occurred because the main temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem was destroyed, making it impossible to properly worship the God in any way. Despite everything, what is clear is monotheism began to receive more attention after the destruction of the temple to yahweh. Other possible developments that are critical were religious changes occurring in the east from the time of the achaemenid empire and later. During this time a new god was introduced: Ahura Mazda to the wider near east. While this may seem insufficient this particular God became associated with the religion Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is the earliest faith to represent a single good God fighting an evil God. This good vs. evil concept is also representing during judgement day on earth. This is where the good go to some type of heaven. Judaism, very likely christianity, may have been influenced by zoroastrianism’s concepts of good vs. evil, the major concepts that christianity adopts such as, judgement day and God vs. satan. What is also clear is monotheism appears to emerge during a period when
He ordered the temples of Amun-Rah to be closed and consequently banned the god, in which he was struck from that period of history through Amun-Rah ’s name being struck from the temple walls. Thus, because of Amun-Rah being removed from the temples, and Aten being the supreme God, he created the first monotheistic
Also, the Hebrews were monotheistic and they were taken over by the neo-Babylonians and were exiled which gave them no place to worship called the Babylonian exile. The Assyrians also separated the Hebrews into tribes that are considered lost to history called the 10 lost
These previous religions mostly included ones from Mesopotamia. However, in the new religion that was made, there was not a huge difference from spiritual Gods to things in the real world. Some Gods included: God of the fire, God of the rain, God of the water, God of the corn, God of the sky, and God of the sun There were also agricultural Gods A lot of people sacrificed themselves to these Gods, too
Many people were worshipping multiple gods. With the rise of Islam, we see the conversion of society. This gave way to the destruction of idols and replacement of Allah, the one, true God who has no equal. This changed life for the people dramatically. Also, people were divided into various tribes based on blood and kinship.
Many of them share the same monotheistic convictions, like Christianity and Islam. A summary of core Jewish beliefs, is the “13 Articles of Faith”, put together by rabbi Maimonides in the 12th-century. In short, the articles convey that there is one unique God, who will reward the good and punish the wicked, Moses was the greatest of the prophets, the messiah will come, and the dead will be
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.
Both religious aspects of the two groups was complicated and diverse, so it is simpler to just compare monotheism to polytheism. The Europeans’ life was governed by their Christian God. God told the Pope what to say and command, so the Pope was given a lot of power over Christian empires, because it was believed the Pope spoke the word of God. The strict Church enforced one religion on the vast majority of Europe, and when Europeans started exploring the New World, they felt they were superior in religion to the unaware Native Americans. The natives had a polytheistic religion, and believed in animism.
The Mesopotamian and Hebrew societies lived in two very distinct sphere of influence, as they were Polytheist and monotheist, respectably. This difference ensured that each society would operate using different methods. The Gods ruling over the Mesopotamian people were extremely negative toward their subjects. Each group of Mesopotamians from the Sumerians to the Babylonians had different names for their gods; however, the gods operated in similar roles. Mesopotamian gods acted with the same feelings, attitudes, and dispositions as humans.
Hinduism: Polytheistic or Monotheistic? Regarded as the 3rd largest religion in the world, originating back to 2750-1750 BCE, Hinduism is a very unique religion practiced mostly by India (80 Percent). When asking the question whether this religion is polytheistic or monotheistic, it can be said that Hinduism can really be considered both of these terms due to different aspects. Hinduism is polytheistic, meaning that this religion worships many different gods all containing different elements, but Hinduism also is monotheistic, as its origins come from one sacred book, the Bhagavad Gita. Hinduism worshipers believe in many different gods, and worshipers participate in different pujas (rituals) to these gods.
The people of Mesopotamia ( Tigris and Euphrates River Valley), and the Nile River Valley had a very strong belief in polytheism. The belief in a religion called polytheism, or the belief of many gods not just one in particular. The Egyptians worshipped as many as 2,000 gods, but the chief god was known as Ra the sun god,
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.
and then I will compare them. Well first I am gonna tell who the founder and who follows Judaism. Well the people who follow Judaism is Jews and the founder was Abraham and he found it in 1300 B.C. Judaism is a monotheistic religion they believe in only one god. Judaism only believe in one god and his name is Yahweh.
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.
Many with a modern, Christian worldview believe there is only one God and He created the world. The Mesopotamians, according to the Enuma Elish, believed in multiple gods and they seemingly were constantly fighting amongst themselves. Tiamat was the name given to chaos and it was through her defeat that the world was created. Later in the story, Marduk creates humans to essentially be servants to the gods.
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.