The Case for Primitive Monotheism

The traditional academic theory of religion has been that we all started out as animists, then progressed to polytheism, then to henotheism, then finally to monotheism. However, an examination of certain ancient traditions suggests that monotheistic ideas may have been present in some of humanity’s earliest religious and philosophical systems, suggesting a primitive or primeval monotheism. These traditions, though diverse in geography and expression, share a striking commonality: the recognition of a singular, supreme divine entity that bears resemblance to the Biblical God as a transcendent, moral, and creative force. The story of the building of the Tower of Babel could be seen as an allegory of mankind’s cultural expressions of the One True God.

Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions, originated in ancient Persia around the 2nd millennium BCE. At its core is the worship of Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord,” who is depicted as the singular, uncreated creator of all existence. The Gathas, hymns attributed to the prophet Zoroaster, properly known as Zarathustra, form the earliest and most authoritative texts of Zoroastrianism and detail why worshipping one god is better than all the other gods of Persia; He saw the confusion this caused and was disgusted by it (the religion of Zoroaster’s day was similar to the Vedic religion as found on the Indian subcontinent but not the exact same). In Yasna 31.7, Zoroaster declares: “He, Ahura Mazda, who created this earth and yonder heaven, who created man and the bodily life for man, who through His wisdom made the soul and the spirit, He is the first and the only one.” This passage underscores Ahura Mazda’s role as the sole creator, a characteristic shared with the Biblical God (Genesis 1:1). Furthermore, Ahura Mazda is portrayed as omniscient and morally perfect, standing in opposition to Angra Mainyu, the destructive spirit. While some interpret Zoroastrianism as dualistic, the Gathas emphasize Ahura Mazda’s supremacy, with Angra Mainyu as a subordinate force destined to be defeated (Yasna 30.3-6). This aligns with the Biblical narrative of God’s ultimate triumph over evil (Revelation 20:10). Zoroastrianism’s monotheistic framework is further evidenced by its ethical system, which emphasizes truth (asha) and righteousness. In Yasna 44.3, Zoroaster asks, “Who established the path of truth and the good mind?” to which the implied answer is Ahura Mazda. This moral dimension mirrors the Biblical God’s role as the source of justice and righteousness (Psalm 89:14).

In ancient China, the Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Zhou (c. 1046–256 BCE) dynasties revered a supreme deity known as Shangdi (“Most High Lord”) or Tian (“Heaven”). This deity was understood as the ultimate ruler of the cosmos, possessing attributes of sovereignty, morality, and transcendence akin to the Biblical God. The Shangshu (Book of Documents), a collection of ancient Chinese texts, provides evidence of this belief. In the “Announcement of Tang” (c. 1766 BCE), King Tang of Shang states: “The great Shangdi has conferred even on the inferior people a moral sense, to enable them to obey His will. I, the little child, dare not disregard the mandate of Heaven.” This passage reflects Shangdi’s role as a moral overseer who grants humanity a conscience, paralleling the Biblical God’s gift of moral discernment (Romans 2:14-15). Additionally, Shangdi is depicted as the creator and sustainer of the world. The Shijing (Book of Odes), another ancient text, contains hymns praising Tian’s creative power, such as in Ode 236: “Great is Heaven, far-reaching and eternal, who gave birth to all things and governs their ways.” This cosmic sovereignty resembles the Biblical depiction of God as the creator of heaven and earth (Isaiah 42:5). Unlike later polytheistic tendencies in Chinese folk religion, early Chinese worship focused exclusively on Shangdi/Tian, with lesser spirits or ancestors serving as intermediaries rather than coequal deities. The Zhou concept of the “Mandate of Heaven” (Tianming) further reinforces Tian’s singular authority, as kings ruled only by divine appointment, a notion comparable to the Biblical idea of divine kingship (1 Samuel 8:7). The monotheistic character of Shangdi/Tian worship suggests that ancient Chinese religion originated in a belief in one supreme God, being continued by the more defined systems of Confucianism, Mohism, and Daoism (by this I mean the philosophical Daoism of the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi rather than religious Daoism that came centuries later).

In the Western philosophical tradition, the Pre-Socratic thinkers of ancient Greece (6th–5th centuries BCE) laid the groundwork for metaphysical inquiry into the nature of reality. Several of these philosophers posited a singular, eternal principle or deity as the source of all existence, foreshadowing monotheistic concepts. Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570–478 BCE) explicitly critiqued polytheism and proposed a single, unchanging God. In Fragment 23, preserved in later sources, Xenophanes writes: “One God, greatest among gods and men, neither in form like unto mortals nor in thought… He sees all, thinks all, hears all, and without toil he governs all by the power of his mind.” This description of a transcendent, omniscient, and omnipotent deity closely resembles the Biblical God’s attributes (Psalm 139:1-4). Xenophanes’ rejection of anthropomorphic gods in favor of a unified divine principle challenges the polytheistic norms of Greek religion and aligns with monotheistic thought. Similarly, Anaximander of Miletus (c. 610–546 BCE) introduced the concept of the Apeiron (“Boundless” or “Infinite”), an eternal, ungenerated principle from which all things arise. In a fragment attributed to him by Simplicius, Anaximander states: “The boundless is the source of all things, eternal and indestructible, from which they come into being and to which they return according to necessity.” While not explicitly theistic, the Apeiron’s role as the uncaused cause of existence parallels the Biblical God as the eternal creator (John 1:3). Later, Parmenides of Elea (c. 515–450 BCE) argued for a singular, unchanging reality in his poem On Nature, stating in Fragment 8: “It is ungenerated and indestructible, whole, of one kind, unmoved, and eternal.” Parmenides’ “Being” is a metaphysical precursor to the “unmoved mover” later developed by Aristotle, which bears striking similarity to the Biblical God as the immutable first cause (Exodus 3:14). These Pre-Socratic ideas, along with the Chinese and Persians,, suggest an early inclination toward a singular, transcendent principle that is the God of Abraham.