Monolatry

[Spiritualnekhtet]

I'm just curious as to what everyone (Christian and non-christian alike) thinks of monolatry (Basically the belief that all gods are one, but manifest as different dieties)? This is more of a curiosity thing, and maybe to help people understand it a bit better if they want (though I don't claim to be an expert by any means!). So tell me your thoughts, ask me your questions (I'll do my best to answer them!).

-Senebty!

 

[Gardenia]

Well, for what it's worth, that's what I believe.

Bet it comes as a surprise given my religion..
(*Probably knows you..* )

 

[Raul7]

Hmm. Have you not heard of what happened to the Pharoah when he disobeyed God's Messenger?

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

Gardenia: Yep such a surprise. haha, I wasn't sure there were any other Kemetics here.

Raul7: Do you mean the Exodus story? Or is there another

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

Gah, silly multiple posts...

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

...

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

...another post...Silly computers...

 

[Omnichaotic]

Yep, I'd say it's the Exodus one - I suppose he thinks that because you practice the Ancient Egyptian religion(am i right?) that you are like Pharoah in the Old Testament, who rejected the "Abrahamic" God.
Of course, I believe that you worship the same Divine Source as me, just under different names.

 

[Gardenia]

Hmm. Have you not heard of what happened to the Pharoah when he disobeyed God's Messenger?

I have, and I can see where you're going with this thought..
Here's the thing though.. and really... it's just a minor thing.. if I took the story as fact, I'd not be pagan in the first place.. so, well, I'm sure you can see where I'm going with that thought..

 

[Omnichaotic]

Lol....

 

[yourfriend58]

We Muslims believe that God sent many messengers ; each had a Holy book that set the rules and the way of life for that epoc .
The prophet Muhamad is the last prophet ( and this is mentioned in the Bible too) so ; we have to follow his orders and those set by the Quran.

 

[sidhe]

I'm just curious as to what everyone (Christian and non-christian alike) thinks of monolatry (Basically the belief that all gods are one, but manifest as different dieties)? This is more of a curiosity thing, and maybe to help people understand it a bit better if they want (though I don't claim to be an expert by any means!). So tell me your thoughts, ask me your questions (I'll do my best to answer them!).

-Senebty!

Well, given a Qabalistic worldview (of the hermetic stripe), monolatry makes sense. God is one, but is refracted and reflected into many different areas. What we see as personal Gods are just our efforts to perceive the unperceivable, as the fullness of God is inconceivable.

Now, back to studying subnetting and supernetting.

 

[arunma]

I'm just curious as to what everyone (Christian and non-christian alike) thinks of monolatry (Basically the belief that all gods are one, but manifest as different dieties)? This is more of a curiosity thing, and maybe to help people understand it a bit better if they want (though I don't claim to be an expert by any means!). So tell me your thoughts, ask me your questions (I'll do my best to answer them!).

-Senebty!

I think it's very bad, because it devalues Jesus Christ from his role as the only Sovereign and Savior of all people.

Incidentally, this is a definition of "monolatry" that I've never heard before. It seems like a made-up word, but I've seen others use it to describe the worship of one false god (as opposed to many false gods). It usually refers to Islam in this capacity.

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

Omnichaotic: Yeah, I figured it was Exodus, just sometimes there are stories that I've never heard before because they're obscure or something. Yep Ancient Egyptian religion is correct. Thing is that I don't reject the Abrahamic god, I accept that he exists (and this is speaking from my personal beliefs, not that of the Kemetic Orthodoxy as a whole) because he is worshipped, but that the Bible is more of a moral code rather than a literal historical book.

arunma: I don't think it devalues Jesus at all, because perhaps he is the only savior, for those who choose to follow the Christian path. He holds value for you and those who share similar beliefs.
I don't believe there really is such a thing as a "false god" so it really is of no consequence to me.

 

[Abbadon]

I'm just curious as to what everyone (Christian and non-christian alike) thinks of monolatry (Basically the belief that all gods are one, but manifest as different dieties)?

That's not the exact definition of monolatry, though that definition would be included.

A broader sense of the term is "the belief that multiple deities exist, but only worshipping one." The definition you gave is my view on different various Christian denominations

I'm pretty much classified as a monotheist, but if Thor or Ishtar happened to pop up in my house, I'd have the same reaction Zoroaster probably would have had: "Oh, you're another one of my deity's creations." I'm not antitheistic to the idea of other deities, more towards agnostic. In the broader sense of the term, and if I were given evidence of the existence of other deities, I'd be a monolator.

I don't believe there really is such a thing as a "false god" so it really is of no consequence to me.

Regardless of our religions, that is a bad arguement. Belief can affect certain consequences, but not all consequences. If belief determined reality, people with gambling addictions would be a heck of a lot richer.

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

It wasn't an argument, more of a statement of what I believe (perhaps consequece was a bad choice of word, I blame it on the cold meds!). Saying that you (not you specifically) believe that all other gods are false because your god said so isn't a good argument either (as far as I'm concerned the Bible or any other holy book is not a good tool in a debate, unless it is a debate about passages in said book) . I'm not here for an argument. I do worship one divine (though it manifests into a range of dieties (sp?)), I said I believe in the Christian god, but I never said I worship him. I gave a fairly simplistic definition of monolatry though, sorry for that, sometimes I have a hard time wording things so they make sense to everyone.

What has given you evidence of your god? Just curious, not an attack on you or anything.

 

[arunma]

arunma: I don't think it devalues Jesus at all, because perhaps he is the only savior, for those who choose to follow the Christian path. He holds value for you and those who share similar beliefs.
I don't believe there really is such a thing as a "false god" so it really is of no consequence to me.

It certainly does devalue Jesus. Jesus can no more be Savior to me (but not to you) than the earth can be round to me but flat to you. If Jesus is Savior, then he is Savior to everyone, and anyone who fails to believe in him will go to hell. To say that all religions are paths to God is to devalue Jesus as an unnecessary savior.

 

[Abbadon]

Saying that you (not you specifically) believe that all other gods are false because your god said so isn't a good argument either

Agreed.

What has given you evidence of your god? Just curious, not an attack on you or anything.

Well, I wouldn't say that I have evidence for "my" god specifically. The Deity, sure, with the usual first cause arguement, the idea of a Logos or Tao, and the infinite (going with the ontological arguement). I guess you could say I worship the God of the philosophers, not the god of any particular religion (I tend to view Christianity as the fulfillment of certain religions, not a religion in itself). Because of this, my view of other deities tends to be Epicurean (if they exist, they've been reacting to me like an impersonal force). Even if the historical Yeshua of Nazareth, the idea of Christ represents something important to me, the union of heaven and earth, and hope and desire to rise above the current situation.

 

[Spiritualnekhtet]

arunma: If believing in him leads to your living a good life, and it fullfills you he is not demeaned, if he leads others to do so as well, it is a good thing and he is important. If believing in him causes good actions, then it will lead to a good afterlife (heaven if you so wish to call it) therefore he is not devalued because something came of a belief in him, something came in the worship of him. To me he is a savior, not just Savior, I have my own path and I do not need that savior, that doesn't make him any less important or divine to those who do need him.

arunma: I was more or less curious because of the way you worded your last post

In the broader sense of the term, and if I were given evidence of the existence of other deities, I'd be a monolator.

That part in particular, thank you for clearing that up though.
I do have to say (even if it doesn't really relate) that I Don't believe Jesus was a historical figure, he exists, but in a spiritual sense (again, these are my personal beliefs and have nothing to do with the teachings of my faith.)

 

[Omnichaotic]

Thing is that I don't reject the Abrahamic god, I accept that he exists (and this is speaking from my personal beliefs, not that of the Kemetic Orthodoxy as a whole) because he is worshipped, but that the Bible is more of a moral code rather than a literal historical book.

Oh, right. I shouldn't have assumed that you rejected anything, but what I meant was, someone who follows one of the Abrahamic religions would probably think of you as rejecting their God, because you worship others(Idolatry in their eyes).

I look at the Bible in a similar way.