#transition from polytheism to monotheism

[fdelopera]

I’m Christian but want to challenge what I’ve been taught after seeing your posts about the Old Testament having cut up the Torah to fit a different narrative. Today I was taught that the Hebrew word Elohim is the noun for God as plural and therefore evidence of the holy Trinity and Jesus & Holy Spirit been there at creation. Is that what the word Elohim actually means? Because I don’t want to be party to the Jewish faith, language and culture being butchered by blindly trusting what I was told

Hi Anon.

NOPE! The reason G-d is sometimes called Elohim in the Tanakh is because during the First Temple period (circa 1000 – 587 BCE), many of the ancestors of the Jewish people in the Northern and Southern Kingdoms practiced polytheism.

(A reminder that the Tanakh is the Hebrew bible, and is NOT the same as the “Old Testament” in Christian bibles. Tanakh is an acronym, and stands for Torah [Instruction], Nevi’im [Prophets], Ketuvim [Writings].)

Elohim is the plural form of Eloah (G-d), and these are some of the names of G-d in Judaism. Elohim literally means “Gods” (plural).

El was the head G-d of the Northern Kingdom’s pantheon, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah incorporated El into their worship as one of the many names of G-d.

The name Elohim is a vestige of that polytheistic past.

Judaism transitioned from monolatry (worshiping one G-d without denying the existence of others) to true monotheism in the years during and directly after the Babylonian exile (597 – 538 BCE). That is largely when the Torah was edited into the form that we have today. In order to fight back against assimilation into polytheistic Babylonian society, the Jews who were held captive in Babylon consolidated all gods into one G-d. Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad. “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”

So Elohim being a plural word for “Gods” has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of the Holy Trinity in Christianity.

Especially because Christians are monotheists. My understanding of the Holy Trinity (please forgive me if this is incorrect) is that Christians believe that the Holy Trinity is three persons in one Godhead. Certainly, the Holy Trinity is not “three Gods” — that would be blasphemy.

(My sincere apologies to the Catholics who just read this last sentence and involuntarily cringed about the Protestants who’ve said this. I’m so sorry! I’m just trying to show that it’s a fallacy to say that the Holy Trinity somehow comes from “Elohim.”)

But there's something else here, too. Something that as a Jew, makes me uneasy about the people who are telling you these things about Elohim and the Holy Trinity.

Suggesting that Christian beliefs like the Holy Trinity can somehow be "found" in the Tanakh is antisemitic.

This is part of “supersession theory.” This antisemitic theory suggests that Christianity is somehow the "true successor" to Second Temple Judaism, which is false.

Modern Rabbinic Judaism is the true successor to Second Temple Judaism. Period.

Christianity began as an apocalyptic Jewish mystery cult in the 1st century CE, in reaction to Roman rule. One of the tactics that the Romans used to subdue the people they ruled over was a “divide and conquer” strategy, which sowed division and factionalization in the population. The Romans knew that it was easier to control a country from the outside if the people inside were at each other’s throats.

Jesus led one of many breakaway Jewish sects at the time. The Jewish people of Qumran (possibly Essenes), whose Tanakh was the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” were another sect.

Please remember that the Tanakh was compiled in the form that we have today over 500 years before Jesus lived. Some of the texts in the Tanakh were passed down orally for maybe a thousand years before that, and texts like the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges (in the Tanakh, that’s in the Nevi’im) were first written down in Archaic Biblical Hebrew during the First Temple Period.

There is absolutely nothing of Jesus or Christianity in the Tanakh, and there is nothing in the Tanakh that in any way predicts Christianity.

Also, Christians shouldn’t use Judaism in any way to try to “legitimize” Christianity. Christianity was an offshoot of 1st century Judaism, which then incorporated a lot of Roman Pagan influence. It is its own valid religion, in all its forms and denominations.

But trying to use the Hebrew bible to give extra credence to ideas like the Holy Trinity is antisemitic.

It is a tactic used by Christian sects that want to delegitimize Judaism as a religion by claiming that Christianity was somehow “planted” in the Tanakh over 2500 years ago.

This line of thinking has led Christians to mass murder Jews in wave after wave of antisemitic violence over the last nearly 2000 years, because our continued existence as Jews challenges the notion that Christians are the “true” successors of Temple Judaism.

Again, the only successor of Temple Judaism is Rabbinic Judaism, aka Modern Judaism.

This line of thinking has also gotten Christians to force Jews to convert en masse throughout the ages. If Christians can get Jews to all convert to Christianity, then they don’t have to deal with the existential challenge to this core misapprehension about the “true” successor to Temple Judaism.

And even today, many Christians still believe that they should try to force Jews to “bend the knee” to Jesus. When I was a young teenager, a preacher who was a parent at the school I went to got me and two other Jewish students to get in his car after a field trip. After he had trapped us in his car, he spent the next two hours trying to get us to convert to Christianity. It was later explained to me that some Christians believe they get extra “points” for converting Jews. And I’m sure he viewed this act of religious and spiritual violence as something he could brag about to his congregation on Sunday.

Trying to get Jews to convert is antisemitic and misguided, and it ignores all the rich and beautiful history of Jewish practice.

We Jews in diaspora in America and Europe have a forced immersion in Christian culture. It is everywhere around us, so we learn a lot about Christianity through osmosis. Many Jews also study early Christianity because Christianity exists as a separate religion within our Jewish history.

But I don’t see a lot of Christians studying Jewish history. Even though studying Jewish history would give you a wealth of understanding and context for your own religious traditions.

So, all of this is to say, I encourage you to study Jewish history and Jewish religious practice. Without an understanding of the thousands of years of Jewish history, it is easy to completely misinterpret the Christian bible, not to mention the Hebrew bible as well.

[templeofthescarletstar]

THE ORIGIN OF AN ARCHETYPE 

Yahweh’s Origins in the Canaanite Pantheon

The earliest roots of Yahweh suggest that he was originally part of a broader Canaanite pantheon, where he was associated as a son of El, the chief god, and possibly identified with or influenced by Ba'al Hadad, the storm and fertility god. Far from being the sole deity of ancient Israel, Yahweh appears to have risen to prominence through a gradual process of religious evolution and consolidation.

1. Yahweh as a Son of El

In the ancient Canaanite religious structure, El was the supreme deity, referred to as the "Father of the Gods." Evidence suggests that Yahweh was initially seen as one of El’s divine offspring, a regional or tribal deity who later became the central focus of Israelite worship.

Evidence:

Deuteronomy 32:8-9: The Masoretic text states, "When the Most High [El Elyon] apportioned the nations, He divided humankind... Yahweh's portion is his people." This passage implies that Yahweh inherited Israel as part of a divine council presided over by El.

The term El Shaddai (often translated as "God Almighty") may also reflect a transitional phase where Yahweh was merged with the attributes of El.

2. Possible Synonymity with Ba'al Hadad

Ba'al Hadad, the Canaanite storm god, shares striking similarities with Yahweh in early depictions, including associations with storms, thunder, and fertility.

Evidence:

Both Yahweh and Ba'al are described as riding on clouds (e.g., Psalm 68:4, which calls Yahweh the "Rider on the Clouds," a title also given to Ba'al in Ugaritic texts).

Archaeological findings, such as inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud, mention Yahweh alongside "his Asherah," suggesting a connection to the goddess Asherah, who was also linked to Ba'al worship.

3. Polytheism in Early Hebrew Scriptures

The earliest Hebrew texts reflect a polytheistic worldview, with references to other gods and the divine council. Over time, these texts were edited to align with a monotheistic theology, but traces of polytheism remain.

Evidence:

Psalm 82: This psalm depicts a divine council where God (El or Yahweh) presides among other deities, judging them. "God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment."

The commandment "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3) implicitly acknowledges the existence of other gods, suggesting that Yahweh was to be worshipped exclusively, not alone.

Names like Elohim (a plural term for "gods") were later interpreted as singular in a monotheistic context but originally reflected a pantheon.

4. Consolidation into Monotheism

The transition from polytheism to monotheism appears to have been driven by political and social factors, particularly during and after the Babylonian exile.

The Deuteronomistic reforms under King Josiah (7th century BCE) sought to centralize worship in Jerusalem and erase competing religious practices. This included the destruction of high places and Asherah poles.

The exile provided a theological crisis that led to the codification of Yahweh as the singular, omnipotent God.

Conclusion

The evidence points to a complex evolution of Yahweh’s role, from a regional deity within a polytheistic framework to the monotheistic God of Israel. This shift was not just theological but also political, aligning religious identity with national unity. Recognizing these origins challenges traditional narratives and opens the door to a deeper understanding of how religious truths were shaped—and sometimes suppressed—to serve institutional power.

From Horned Gods to Sky Fathers: The Evolution of Divine Archetypes

Long before the rise of Bronze Age deities like Yahweh, Ba'al, Zeus, and Odin—the archetypal "sky fathers" associated with storms and authority—Neolithic mythologies centered around a very different divine figure: the horned fertility god. This archetype, representing virility, nature, and the cyclical rhythms of life, was deeply intertwined with the earth goddess, symbolizing the balance of masculine and feminine energies. Over time, this primordial fertility god evolved into the storm-wielding patriarchs of the Bronze Age, reflecting a shift from earth-centered spirituality to a more hierarchical, sky-dominant religious structure.

Ba'al and the Horned God Archetype

Ba'al Hadad, the Canaanite storm and fertility god, embodies this transitional archetype. While known primarily for his dominion over storms and rain, Ba'al was also symbolically tied to fertility and often depicted with bull imagery—a clear link to the ancient horned god. Bulls, with their strength and virility, were revered as symbols of power and fertility in Neolithic cultures, and this symbolism carried over into Ba'al’s representation.

Evidence of Fertility Symbolism: Ugaritic texts describe Ba'al’s battles with the sea god Yam and the death god Mot, symbolizing the cycles of nature—fertility, drought, death, and rebirth. His victory over these forces ensures the fertility of the land, much like the earlier horned gods who presided over agricultural cycles.

The Tree of Life and the Balance of Archetypes

The evolution of these archetypes is mirrored in the structure of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Chokhmah, the first masculine expression of consciousness, represents not just wisdom but also the raw, creative force of fertility—the seed from which all life emerges. Binah, the cosmic mother, embodies the womb that receives and nurtures this creative force, shaping it into form. Together, they reflect the primordial balance of masculine and feminine energies that is foundational to existence.

Chessed and Geburah: This balance continues in the next set of Sephiroth—Chessed (mercy and expansion) and Geburah (severity and restraint). The merciful "All-Father," often depicted as a benevolent ruler or lawgiver, reflects Chessed, while Geburah embodies the divine force of discipline and justice. These archetypes are not inherently good or evil; they represent the necessary dualities that govern the universe.

The Removal of the Divine Feminine and the Corruption of the Archetype

However, as patriarchal religions solidified their power—particularly through the influence of institutions like the Church—the divine feminine was systematically erased from spiritual narratives. The goddess, once a co-equal counterpart to the god, was either diminished, demonized, or entirely removed. This unbalanced the archetypal framework, distorting the original harmony reflected in the Tree of Life.

The Beginning of Corruption: The removal of the divine feminine didn’t just suppress goddess worship; it fundamentally altered the nature of the masculine archetype itself. Without its balancing counterpart, the merciful All-Father became the authoritarian Demiurge, enforcing rigid laws without compassion. This corruption is mirrored in the transformation of the Sephiroth into the Qliphoth—the shadow side of the Tree of Life. The very forces that once guided humanity toward balance and enlightenment were twisted into tools of oppression and control.

A Preview of What’s to Come

In the next chapter, we will explore how this removal of the divine feminine set the stage for the widespread spiritual corruption seen throughout history. The Church's deliberate suppression of the goddess archetype not only severed humanity from a vital aspect of its collective consciousness but also paved the way for the distortion of spiritual truths. We will examine how this imbalance manifests within the Qliphoth, turning divine principles into their corrupted counterparts, and how reclaiming these suppressed archetypes is essential for restoring spiritual harmony.

[gulyas069]

you ever think about how like 4 billion people believe in the mythologized transition from polytheism to monotheism of some iron age mediterranean tribe

[0illuminated1]

From Many Gods to One Truth: How Jesus Represents the Unified Psyche - The Hidden Connection Between Ancient Deities and the Fully Realized Self For thousands of years, cultures around the world worshiped many gods, each representing a different force of nature, a psychological state, or a universal principle. But were these gods ever truly separate? Or were they fragments of a greater, unified truth? This video explores how ancient deities embodied different aspects of the human psyche—war and wisdom, chaos and order, love and judgment—and how the figure of Jesus represents their ultimate reconciliation into a single, fully integrated whole. We’ll break down: 🔥 How different gods symbolized conflicting yet essential aspects of existence 🔥 Why Jesus stands as the culmination of all divine archetypes 🔥 How moving from polytheism to monotheism reflects the unification of the psyche 🔥 What this means for personal transformation, belief systems, and self-mastery The transition from many gods to one was not merely a historical shift—it was the external reflection of an inner psychological and spiritual process. Throughout history, humans have attempted to balance competing forces within themselves: light and dark, justice and mercy, intellect and intuition. The pantheons of old externalized these forces, creating a fragmented understanding of divinity. Jesus, as an archetype, resolves this fragmentation. In him, the opposites are no longer at war but brought into perfect harmony. He embodies both the suffering and the savior, both the lion and the lamb, both sacrifice and resurrection. In this way, the Christ figure does not erase the old gods—he completes them, integrating their disparate meanings into a unified truth. By understanding Jesus as the fully realized psyche, we can see how myth and religion are not just about gods in the sky, but about the battle for inner wholeness—and how those who control belief systems control perception and behavior. This is the key to breaking free from illusion. To transcend false divisions, reclaim personal power, and move beyond limiting beliefs. Join us as we decode the hidden wisdom of the ancients and explore how this knowledge can change how you see yourself—and the world. 👉 Subscribe for mind-expanding content on psychology, spirituality, and esoteric truth.

[esoteric-brustle]

This is a common theological turning point from nature-based polytheism to humanoid monotheism. There is this important opening in a chapter of children of dune

CHALLENGE: “Have you seen The Preacher?” RESPONSE: “I have seen a sandworm.” CHALLENGE: “What about that sandworm?” RESPONSE: “It gives us the air we breathe.” CHALLENGE: “Then why do we destroy its land?” RESPONSE: “Because Shai-Hulud [sandworm deified] orders it.” —RIDDLES OF ARRAKIS BY HARQ AL-ADA Which alludes to the saying "You can't worship the buffalo and beat the cow." In this case it is about the turning point in the Zensunni religion as it was infiltrated by the Missionaria to benefit them. Under the guidance of Kynes, the worms were respected and all of the bribing of the guild to prevent satellites observing the slow transformation of Arrakis. Under his plan, the regions between the poles and the tropics would be planted and recover weather and the strip of the equator would remain a desert. All of this is meant to take hundreds if not thousands of years for many reasons, including avoiding further oppression, keeping the project going so that it can snowball and the idea that at least the Fremen culture can acclimate to it and work it back when the wellbeing of their way of life (including the worms) could be threatened by this project. What Paul does is very quickly throw a wrench in all of that, with him becoming emperor and moving the imperial seat to Arrakis, he can more overtly follow this plan and he needs to accelerate it to turn Arrakeen and its surroundings into an administrative hub that now doesn't exist only for exploiting the natives and the one resource that bottlenecks human developmment in this era (now it serves to exploit all of huumanity). Inevitably Arrakis regains its surface water as the planet is modified by the interests of Paul and the Fremen jihad has demotivated and deradicalized many Fedaykin as they go off-planet and are show bodies of water so large that they shatter their customs born form water scarsity. By the time of his children, many already know that the last large worms are the ones born before Paul arrived and that their culture and the animal that conditions the planet is going extinct. This is also a reference tto the title "Dune" itself, which is what the empire has always called the planet, as opposed to the native nale Arrakis, the name itself refers tot eh colonialism and erasure of the culture and the world in which it was shaped. A dune is ecologically a transitional stage between the beach and the inland, it sequesters sand and witht the first wave of plants that grow, carbon gets mixed into the soil, in the second wave nitrogen fixing plants come in and after enough time, this land has been transformed into forest soil if it's close enough to a forest. After the reign of Leto II and the breaking of the spice monopoly, he is still referred to as "the divided god," refering to how his reign and the production of spice were intertwined and they have been separated and lost since his carnal death. We already know that Paul had the genetic making of the KH, but he needed to have been born as a woman and be married off into the Harkonnen house so that with the most important rivalry in the imperium could be quelled and also so the BG would have a puppet ruler that they could control through his vices (the would-be son of Paul and Feyd), everything they did to maniopulate the fremen religion and the colonisation they enabled and encouraged undid what kept the religion alive so much that Leto II has to later assign essentially human zoos where he has kept a small and underwhelming pastiche of Fremen culture alive that will only recover once he can againreturn the palnet itself to the desert it once was and the customs re-emerge out of necessity as they did before the discovery of the spice's use in navigation.

The fremen’s relationship with the sandworms in dune is so funny to me. Cause there both revered objects of worship that are deeply sacred to the fremen but also a beast of burden they ride in order to get place to place in the desert. Like imagine if subway trains were considered gods in New York and parts of decommissioned trains were holy artifacts everyone carried with them but also its still just a train and everyone just uses it to commute most of the time.

[algolastrology]

9th House Saturn transit update 15 February 2024

- crisis of faith and direction.

- The urge to elevate or “do something” with my life. Feeling like I was stuck with the direction as to my life.

- Long travel. I spent 6 months in India volunteering. Found the culture differences difficult and frictions led me to feel some sort of uncanny valley affect and develop an appreciation for my own culture.

- Started dating someone from a different race, culture and religion. We had friction as to goals in life, and cultural differences led to communication issues. We both spoke a different kind of English. Sometimes I felt we were too different and being seen together as two different people from completely different cultures would affect my reputation (natal Saturn in 10)

- My bf is Hindu and I am from a Muslim background. Due to the uprise of Hindu nationalism, he would occasionally criticise Islam, which would offend me, even though I didn’t find myself identifying with the religion, I still somehow felt it was an attack on my identity (natal Saturn conjunct Moon which is my ASC ruler). My bf is a writer, writing a trilogy about Lord Shiva at the time.

- Due to India travel and Hindu boyfriend, I challenged with the idea of polytheism vs monotheism which I grew up on. I was raised to believe idolatry was the biggest sin and now that idea was being challenged. Hinduism is very different. I found myself quite closed off and résistent to a lot of concepts from Hinduism. Found the practices of having dolls in temples ‘immature’ and the whole God culture in India a bit too money orientated and cult like.

- Despite so much instinctive rejection of Indian and Hindu culture and difficulties assimilating, I found their humility and humbleness admirable. I found followers of Abrahamic religions and those in my hometown, London, to be unbearably arrogant and self-righteous which was a complete turn off from my own country. Being humble felt more attractive and respectable.

- Felt like I had no direction. Remunerating over whether I wanted to do a TEFL and teach in Asia or go back to the UK and study a masters. Struggling to pick a topic to study for Masters. Whether I wanted to continue my chosen career path despite having the struggles i had and choosing to quit in the first place, although I needed the security. Felt like my options were limited. The world no longer felt like my oyster.

- Despite having some spiritual encounters in the past and it building my faith in god through hard times, I started to question how useful this was and if it was mature to base big decisions on superstitions. At the same time, spiritualism drove me a bit crazy and led me to make impractical and crazy choices in my life because I was relying too much on superstitions to direct my life. Likewise, I needed spiritualism to add colour and meaning to my life. Life was more beautiful with empathy, compassion, beauty and dreamy spiritualism (Pisces), which I felt was precious but dying

- Felt like I needed guidance, a career counsellor or something to help direct my life, but feeling like there was nobody out there. Mother being my ultimate authority figure (my natal Saturn conjuncts my Moon in 10H), I felt like she was the only respectable guidance out there, despite having rebelled against her advices so much because of how she would limit my life.

[baldysthoughts]

Akhenaten: Unveiling the Transition from Polytheism to Monotheism

[thetelesterion]

Respectfully, I'd like to voice my disagreement with some of the points here.

Neoplatonism is still inherently polytheistic at its core. While the main goal is a reunion of the soul with the One, the Gods are still ever present and are the only beings we can approach to achieve that goal. I disagree that by adhering to Platonic or Neoplatonic theology, one inevitably spirals towards monotheism. The One is NOT a person, nor is it a god. No Neoplatonist ever taught as much, to my knowledge anyway. It is a principle beyond worship or thought, beyond our ability to approach. The Gods however, ARE approachable. It's easy to get this misconception about Platonism and later Platonic philosophies, that they were secretly monotheistic in nature.

This is not true.

Christians will oftentimes use this rhetoric to argue that Plato and other philosophers were "crypto-monotheists" and to justify their adoption of Platonic and Greek philosophical elements into Christianity. But it's simply not true.

Neoplatonism is especially polytheistic, as evidenced by figures like Iamblichus, a Syrian philosopher and teacher who wrote extensively on utilizing "theurgy" or rituals designed to elevate the soul in its ascent to godhood. His predecessors, Porphyry and Plotinus, placed far less emphasis on rituals and sacrifices in favor of a more contemplative, intellectual way of approaching unity with the One. But all of them believed in the gods in one way or another, Iamblichus especially.

"For us it is sufficient that this is the will of the Gods, which all enable us to undertake tasks even more arduous than these. Having thus acknowledged our primary submission to the divinities, our secondary devotion shall be to the prince and father of this philosophy as a leader."

-Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras

On the topic of the nature of evil, I have nothing really to say except that evil in Neoplatonism is conceived of as being the "absence of good." It HAS no existence apart from a lack of goodness.

Lastly, on the topic of whether or not Judaism "started out" as a polytheistic religion, I want to say a few things. A disclaimer though, before I do so: I am not Jewish. I do not speak for all Jews or all adherents of Judaism.

l personally find conversations about this topic simultaneously interesting and exhausting. Whether or not Judaism emerged out of an existing form of Canaanite or Semitic polytheism, or whether it was henotheistic before eventually transitioning into monotheism really does not have any sort of effect on Judaism as it exists today. Judaism, as it exists in our modern day, is monotheistic. Plain and simple. I won't deny the existence of people who reconstruct Canaanite polytheism, but Judaism, and by extension Christianity, are both monotheistic and to say otherwise is misinformation. In my opinion, arguing over wether or not Judaism was "originally polytheistic" is not really a valuable discussion.

Additionally, while you correctly point out that Jeremiah 44 contains references to ancient Israelites worshipping Asherah, the "Queen of Heaven," the context of the verses are condemnatory. They are placed in the context of idolatry and Hashem/Adonai states his unhappiness with the Israelites performing such sacrifices. Does this provide evidence that monotheism came at a later stage in Israelite history? Maybe. Does it matter in the context of Judaism as it exists today, right now? No.

We can acknowledge that Judaism emerged out of a very polytheistic world while respecting the fact that it is monotheistic today. As is Christianity. Religions are not static. They can adapt and change.

Steven Dillon's conversion to Christianity: what does it mean to Hellenism and Pagan Community?

Steven Dillon, the author of "The Case for Polytheism" and "Pagan Portals - Polytheism: A Platonic Approach", recently returned to Christianity.

This event made me think a lot. I think this event can teach us that the more you are concerned with "the One" and you think it can respond, the more likely you will go towards monotheism.

The point is that "the One" is us, and is "a thing", not "somebody".

The One is not a person. This is the reason why we worship the Gods, they are persons.

The One, the All, is so big that the idea that it can listen is nonsense.

Monotheism emerges when you think the entire universe can listen to you. Polytheism is the humbleness to understand that only certain parts of the Universe can listen to you.

And when you think you are talking to the One you are always actually talking to a part of it.

This is the reason why Christ, Yahweh, Allah, etc. are parts of the One and not the One.

Even attempts to interact with the entirety of the One are just interactions with parts of the One, ie one of the many Gods.

This is confirmed by Aleister Crowley's experience, we can read from the Liber Astarte Vel Berylli that he considered Allah, Christ and Yahweh as Parts or Aspects of the One, exactly as other Polytheistic Deities, and not as the All/the One in its entirety:

"Let the devotee consider well that […] Christ and Osiris be one […]".

"As for Deities with whose nature no Image is compatible, let them be worshipped in an empty shrine. Such are Brahma, and Allah. Also some postcaptivity conceptions of Jehovah".

"[…] the particular Deity be himself savage and relentless; as Jehovah or Kali."

-

Moreover, Dillon was (is?) Platonic, and the problem is even worse, because sadly the reaction to the problem of evil is very similar between Platonism and Christianity.

However, the Stoic (and maybe the Hindu and Buddhist) worldview completely destroys the problem of evil, because if the Divine is good and we simply don't perceive the goodness and that is what evil is, ie ignorance or misperception, then the problem of evil is solved.

If we, instead, perceive the evil as something real and the Gods as totally good not evil, the problem of evil remains.

-

Finally, a Pagan that comes back to Christianity usually doesn't know history very well, and is unaware of Natib Qadish, ie Modern Canaanite Religion or Neopaganism.

If you listen to Natib Qadish (ie Canaanite and Israelite Polytheistic Neopaganism) and Wathanism (Arabian pre-Islamic Polytheistic Neopaganism) practitioners' voices, you cannot come back to Christianity.

In fact, Christianity doesn't make any sense: Yahweh is a Storm God that comes from Edom to Israel through the Kenites or Shasu, which were nomads. His name meant "to blow", and so he was a variation of Baal Hadad.

In the origin, El was the father of Baal/Yahweh, and his sister was Anat and his mother Asherah. Later, El ie the Sky God and Yahweh ie the Storm God, merged and so Yahweh was seen as the husband of the Goddess Asherah.

In fact in Kuntillet Arjud it's possible to see blessings by "Yahweh and his Asherah". Moreover, even the Bible (read The Book of Judges) witness that people worshipped Asherah/Astarte and Baal together with YHWH.

In Elephantine in Egypt there was a Jewish temple for Yahu-Anat, ie both Anat and YHWH.

So how can Jesus be the son of the only God Yahweh if Yahweh was never a monotheistic God before the Josiah's reform that made Judaism monotheistic?

If Judaism is originally polytheistic then Christianity makes no sense.

By reading the "Cycle of Baal" we'll discover the origin of the Biblical Deity (or Deities?).

I end my dissertation with some interesting quotes from the Bible:

Jeremiah 7:

"17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven."

Jeremiah 44:

"17 We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. 18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.”

"19 The women added, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes impressed with her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?”"

"25 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have done what you said you would do when you promised, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.’"

[blackcrowing]

God Against the Gods: the History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism - Johnathan Kirsch

Religious History- 364 pages- Published 2004

Johnathan Kirsch is an American attorney and writer with a BA in Russian and Jewish history from University of California, Santa Cruz. This and other works by the author are centered around religion, the Bible and Judaism.

4/5 on Fluff vs. Serious Study

This book is factual and informative, but falls just short of the highest score for a serious studier as this author chooses to prioritize the accessibility of their work to readers of all levels over source dropping. Notes for all chapters can be found at the end of the book as opposed to the bottom of each page.

4/5 on Easy reading vs. Dry

This author took great pains to make this material could be read and enjoyed, even by those not used to reading historically focused texts. With that said it IS still heavy reading and not recommended for those who do not enjoy the subject.

5/5 UPG vs hard evidence

The author keeps all of their information to historical facts with no personal theories, hypothesis or interpretations put forward.

Summary

This text is an informative and well written depiction of the transition inside of the Roman empire from polytheism to monotheism. Covering such subjects as theological disagreements within early Christianity, why Christians were "persecuted" by the state while Jews were not, and how Christianity grew in popularity among the population of the Roman empire and why polytheism fell out of favor.

[thysia]

Monotheistic fantasy settings seem fairly rare, but I guess it isn’t hard to understand why. Even beyond the first hurdle of initial association with abrahamic religion and associated baggage there’s an issue of conflict. If an unopposed god has an agenda how can the world look any way other than perfectly in line with the god’s will? Why does the god not simply create a paradise? Obviously this argument exists in real life theology and thus has a great multitude of answers to pick from or be inspired by. That the divine requires man to endure or overcome worldly strife to some or another end is easy to work with and seems to ring true for many people.

Even still, while I was thinking about retooling the cosmology of my setting to explore monotheism and the transition from polytheism to monotheism, it remained tempting to undermine that idea. The desire to have a god that survived the divine conflict as an adversary, or cthonic gods who weren’t in heaven when it occurred and were thusly spared, or even to have an alliance of gods win the divine conflict and become a new pantheon instead of a singular god. The singular god — dictator of ultimate truth by process of elimination — is I think necessary to make exploration of the idea at hand worthwhile. Anything less undermines the entire exercise.

With that kind of set up there’s still a lot of room for the exploration of human theology, I think. Especially if the desire of the god is to create a crucible for man instead of a paradise. Besides differing interpretations of the god, there may be those who hold that the others gods still live and continue to worship some combination of them. Or those that know the other gods are dead but continue to worship them anyways in opposition to the reigning god. I already had the Obliterationists — a sect of antitheist necromancers using a mix of eternal unlife and spiritual annihilation to wage war against the divine regime — and they fit pretty nicely into this too.

[teawiththegods]

helloo!! I have a question about transiting from monotheism to polytheism - hoow do you find time for everyone?? Starting this year, the gods seem to be in charge of specific months for me, but I really want to do things for/with them even during the months they're not the main one in charge. Are there any practices you do to spend time with several different gods? thank you!!

Hello, love! 💕

For me the best way to honor and connect with multiple gods at once without burning yourself out is through devotional acts! Pick any activity you wish and dedicate it either to multiple gods or the entire Theoi. What the activity you choose is ultimately up to you but if you want to make it simple and easy for yourself (esp in the beginning) you can pick something already in your routine esp if it’s something you still struggle with. Like for me I recently dedicated drinking water to Apollo (well he kind of forced me but it still counts! 😂). I was drinking water but not enough and not consistently so adding the devotional element to it makes it more likely I’ll do it you know? So you could do something like that but dedicate it to more than one god.

Another easy but effective method is to light candles. I freakin love candles! You can light one candle for multiple gods. I’ve done it so many times before when I felt immense gratitude for all the Theoi.

Similar to that you can share your food with multiple gods!

Hope that helps!! 😁💖

[gricks-thoughts]

For a historical take from a non-edgy atheist.

This isn't exactly anything new. This is just... how religions develop? From what we can tell the ancient jewish people (I believe related to the caananite peoples of the bronze age but don't quote me on that) slowly transitioned from polytheism to something Henotheistic (acknowledging multiple gods but worshipping one supreme deity) to a strict monotheism around the time of Persian rule, possibly influenced by Zoroastrian beliefs during the biblical Babylonian exile period. Even afterwards its almost certain they were influenced by hellenistic beliefs of the post-alexander greek empires

If the argument being made is just that strictly monotheistic judaism is not nearly as old as the biblical narrative would suggest then yeah sure okay? But I'm not sure what the end point of pointing that out would be. Its certainly not any kind of "own" or slam dunk against the religion.

Don't know if I'd say "Main Plot" but it certainly is a repeating theme.

Edgy atheist that didn't do the reading says something that we already knew because it's in the reading, take a shot.

[unifiedesoterictarot]

Very few people are aware that the ancient Mesopotamian Moon-gods were masculine. Semitic tribes held the Sun to be female and considering the Moon and Venus to be male. Look at both birds and mammals, beauty is predominantly a masculine feature. In primitive, isolated tribes where the ancient traditions are still preserved, man paint themselves, dress up, dance and perform rituals to attract women, just like in nature, and not the other way around as it happens in the "civilised world". The invention of values, standards and attributes occurred with the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy, respectively, from polytheism to monotheism. What we learned is not always correct. #moon #lunatic #moonatics #esoteric #astrology #mysticism #scholarship #wisdom #feminism #matriarchy #patriarchy #knowledge #attilakarpathy #learning https://www.instagram.com/p/CQIYGW1Ha__/?utm_medium=tumblr

[apocrypals]

hey! i’m super curious about the pre-monotheistic/monolatrism times of judaism (proto-judaism?). what parts of the old testament were monolatristic? why the change to monotheism? what’s the difference between monolatrism and henotheism? they seem p much the same, but i’m reading wikipedia sooo

To answer your last question first: monolatry and henotheism are both practices in which one worships a single god while acknowledging the existence of other gods, but the difference is that in henotheism, worship of other gods is considered potentially as valid as the worship of one’s own god. So, for example, a henotheistic Roman might worship Sol Invictus exclusively, but they wouldn’t look down on someone else for worshiping Jupiter. Whereas a monolatrist thinks only their god is worthy of worship.

The transition from monolatry to monotheism within Judaism is believed to have largely occurred during the Exilic period in the 6th century, thanks in large part to exposure to Zoroastrianism, which is monotheistic. The majority of the Hebrew Bible was composed or redacted during the Exilic or post-Exilic period.

Pretty much the only material that predates the Exile are oracles of the various prophets, and even then, as we’ve discussed on the show, only portions of what we now think of as the complete books of those prophets.

So the earliest composed bits of Bible would be portions of Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk. The earliest narrative parts would be the Deuteronomic code and portions of the Deuteronomistic history (Joshua/Judges/Samuel/Kings) composed during the reign of Josiah, which was also the transition from full-on polytheism to monolatry, btw.

Wikipedia has a chart that can give you an overview of the different layers of composition of Bible. Hope that helps!

--Benito

[eightyonekilograms]

Do any of my followers know what is/are the leading theoy(ies) about why the Near East (and subsequently, “the West”) transitioned from polytheism to monotheism, and what is some reading I can do about it? Is it just a historical accident because Christianity happened to win, were there structural factors in the region that caused it to happen, or is there considered to be something about monotheism in general that makes transition in that direction much more likely? 

Without even glancing at it, it’s the sort of question that I can tell attracts controversy, woo, and both real racism and unfounded accusations of same, so I want to skip uninformed Internet junk and get to the expert literature.

[fabien-euskadi]

🥉 and 🧚‍♂️!

- What’s one thing you enjoy doing even though you’re bad at it? I used to play tennis and I actually enjoyed it, although I was rubbish at it. Latter, I decided I wanted to surf and I really enjoyed it - but I was rubbish at it. Now, I wanted to play guitar and even sing... but I am prepared to be really rubbish at it.

- You can choose one ancient religion to become a major world religion today. Which one do you choose? - I was always fascinated by the Egyptian theology, but it's quite tricky to say that there is just an Egyptian religion - each pharaoh had his/her specific religious program (for example, pharaohs named "Seti" would, probably, be more focused on the god Seth - and that could mean that military/war affairs would have a higher priority) and even each main city had its specific understanding of the religion of the Kingdom of the Two Lands. But, to become the main religion of the World, it would have to be the Atenism system of the Akhenaten period in Amarna. Although the cult of Aten and the solar deities have been a norm since the Old Kingdom - specially in Iunu -, the Atenism was the turning point,  the moment where it started the transition from the polytheism to the monotheism (although the Atenism was not, technically speaking, a monotheist system).

Thank you - enjoy your weekend (or what is left of it) and stay safe, please:)