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.
3,4). With the practice of Hellenism, people thought that the religion died off as time progressed and more religions began to develop, but research suggests that the practice of Hellenism is still around and a huge population actually religiously follows it. Harvey describes Hellenism as the following of Greek mythology including the Gods, underworld, and deities of the Greek mythology world. Following Hellenism is a religion that requests blessings from each and every God by sacrificing something of value to the person (2017, Para. 5).
Three “schools of thought” were born to figure out this balance. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. Although, each are different in their beliefs, they each had the common goal of wanting to achieve harmony in their society and the universe.
So, where did Hebrews get the idea of monotheism? The author deduces that it would be easy for Hebrews to arrive at the conclusion of worshipping in only one god. On the other hand, the author
Taoism Taoism is an indigenous chinese religion and a philosophy which has roots from ancient shamanism. It has lived through centuries in China as a religion aside Confucianism and Buddhism and as a philosophy aside Confucianism. As a philosophy it is mainly the opposite of Confucianism, because Confucianism praised laws and order but Taoism is more about people having minimal restrictions in order to live happily. The Taoist religion was created from the Taoist philosophy and as a philosophy and religion it has had a huge influence in China and in eastern Asia. Although, as a religion it would outline all the seven dimensions it is debatable if it is more of a philosophy.
Buddhism’s ideal practitioners focus on wisdom, ethical conduct, and mental discipline. Buddhists seek knowledge, act properly, and mediate to obtain liberation. These traits contrast Taoism by Taoists believing knowledge is not something to strive for because it leads to desire, which leads to forceful action. Although, The Analects by Confucius has a theme of wisdom and learning, which parallels Buddhist’s values for wisdom. Confucianism is also similar to Buddhism in the importance of proper behavior.
Perhaps there has never been a more broad and persistent influence in the world of philosophy and religion as Pantheism. “Pantheism is the philosophy of the religious consciousness of India, affirming that there is no God apart from nature, and that everything in nature must be considered as a part, or manifestation of God. Pan means all and Theos means God. Pantheism then, implies all is God and God is all.” Though Pantheism has had some negative effects on the religious world, there are some positive insights that one can gain when looking at this man-made philosophy. First of all, Pantheism attempts to be comprehensive in its perspective.
Personally based off my reading in the text and background knowledge, I would say that Hinduism and Christianity are vastly different for numerous reasons. In addition to being in separate categories (Cosmological: Hinduism, Transcendental: Christianity) I find that everything about their beliefs are so polar opposite. What I found to be interestly different is their view on the destiny of the world and themselves. Hindu’s believe that the world has no beginning or end, but goes through many phases of destruction and creation (Many People Many Faiths pg. 107).
They are not as strongly distinguished as people once thought they were, but the philosophical Taoism tends to focus particularly on the philosophical writings of Lao-Tzu who wrote the book on Taoism. They also focus on Chuang-Tzu and other early mystic books, while religious Taoism strongly emphasizes religious rituals that are said to be aimed at becoming immortal. There are about 20 million Taoists worldwide, but most of them live in China, Taiwan or Southeast Asia. Taoism is also constantly influencing in the West, especially about alternative medicine and also martial arts like Tai
How these ancient polytheistic religions show similarities and differences is exemplified through the religions of the ancient Greeks, Japanese, and Mayas. In order to a civilization to survive it requires sun, land,