Books On Monotheism? (it's history, theological apologies, etc.)

[Anonymous No.19484044]

Monotheism seems rare across the world but it seems so true to me...does anyone else feel this way?
Last thread didn't do so well; I've got my fingers crossed on this one, boys.

[Anonymous No.19484051]

(u don't have to read all of this stuff below, just summarizing what I could find so far).
From what I gather from Wikipedia and my own knowledge, these are pretty much all the monotheistic traditions across the world (barring new ones).
Asia
> The Persians and Zoroastrianism (and Manichaeism???)
> The Jews and their derivative religions (Abrahamism)
> Yazidism in Turkey
> Sikhism in India
> The Chinese and Shangdi, esp. in Mohism
> Tengrism or Tangrism (sometimes stylized as Tengriism), occasionally referred to as Tengrianism, is a modern term[165] for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism,[166][167][168][169] and ancestor worship. Historically, it was the prevailing religion of the Bulgars, Turks, Mongols, and Hungarians, as well as the Xiongnu and the Huns.[170][171] It was the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states: Avar Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Göktürks Khaganate, Eastern Tourkia and Western Turkic Khaganate. In Irk Bitig, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi (God of Turks).[172] The term is perceived among Turkic peoples as a national religion.
> [Tengrism cont'd] In Chinese and Turco-Mongol traditions, the Supreme God is commonly referred to as the ruler of Heaven, or the Sky Lord granted with omnipotent powers, but it has largely diminished in those regions due to ancestor worship, Taoism's pantheistic views and Buddhism's rejection of a creator God. On some occasions in the mythology, the Sky Lord as identified

[Anonymous No.19484052]

>>19484051
Europe
>The surviving fragments of the poems of the classical Greek philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon suggest that he held views very similar to those of modern monotheists. [...] Xenophanes's theology appears to have been monist, but not truly monotheistic in the strictest sense.[19] Although some later philosophers, such as Antisthenes, believed in doctrines similar to those expounded by Xenophanes, his ideas do not appear to have become widely popular.
> Although Plato himself was a polytheist, in his writings, he often presents Socrates as speaking of "the god" in the singular form. He does, however, often speak of the gods in the plural form as well.
> "The One" (Τὸ Ἕν) is a concept that is prominent in the writings of the Neoplatonists, especially those of the philosopher Plotinus.[156] In the writings of Plotinus, "The One" is described as an inconceivable, transcendent, all-embodying, permanent, eternal, causative entity that permeates throughout all of existence.
> Sol Invictus? I'm not sure if this counts actually.
> Mithraism?
> The imported Abrahamic religions which blossomed into the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Churches
> The Deism of the Enlightenment
Africa
> The Egyptians and Atenism
> The Himba people of Namibia practice a form of monotheistic panentheism, and worship the god Mukuru.
> The Igbo people practice a form of monotheism called Odinani. Odinani has monotheistic and panentheistic attributes, having a single God as the source of all things. Although a pantheon of spirits exists, these are lesser spirits prevalent in Odinani expressly serving as elements of Chineke (or Chukwu), the supreme being or high god.
> Waaq is the name of a singular God in the traditional religion of many Cushitic people in the Horn of Africa, denoting an early monotheistic religion. However this religion was mostly replaced with the Abrahamic religions. Some (approximately 3%) of Oromo still follow this traditional monotheistic religion called Waaqeffannaa in Oromo.
> Imana is the creator deity in the traditional Banyarwanda and Barundi religion in Rwanda and Burundi and other related ethnic groups, such as Baha in Tanzania and Banyamulenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In current-day usage, the term refers to God as found in Christianity. Ancient Banyarwanda and Barundi believed in one god, the creator Imana.
> Imported Abrahamic Religions which gave rise to traditions like the Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and Jewry
America
>The Great Spirit, called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nation cultures. According to Lakota activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.

[Anonymous No.19484062]

>>19484051
Tengrism is fascinating and almost seems like a shamanic version of Chrisitanity.
Its the first religion as far as I can tell that postuated the existence of a Satan-like character who rebels against God and tempts man to sin.

[Anonymous No.19484066]

>>19484044
Start with Assmann.

[Anonymous No.19484080]

>>19484044
It doesn't feel rare to me. Even hinduism needed a supreme creator depending on which part of the trimurti you accept (or even brahmanism etc). It's definitely an evolved spirituality from a pantheon which is better than a storm diety

[Anonymous No.19484082]

>>19484066
I was just about to post this. Anyway, also check out Freud's Moses and Monotheism.

[Anonymous No.19484088]

>>19484080
>Even hinduism needed a supreme creator depending on which part of the trimurti you accept
That's monism within a polytheistic framework. A real monotheist would call all of the Hindu gods, even Brahman, idols or demons or perhaps demonic idols.

[Anonymous No.19484103]

>>19484066
And Johannes de Moor

[Anonymous No.19484353]

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/monotheism

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1454/monotheism-in-the-ancient-world

[Anonymous No.19484368]

>>19484044
A History of God by Armstrong
History of Religious Ideas by Eliade, deals with all kinds of religion but that also includes monotheism of course

[Anonymous No.19484418]

>>19484088
You're suggesting monotheism is at best a dualism (God vs idols or demon/ic idols) when monotheism is more properly a monism.

[Anonymous No.19484426]

>>19484368
>armstrong
She does a good book on myth tho too
She's where the "Muhammed was a feminist" theory came from righ

[Anonymous No.19484587]

>>19484044
Spinoza Ethics Book 1

[Anonymous No.19484688]

>>19484418
Find me a monotheism that doesn't shriek about all the other "gods" being demons. If anything the monistic polytheists are better off than the monotheists since their God of Gods isn't constantly worrying about policing you and making sure you worship only him. You know, since he is completely absolute and beyond all mere things, unlike a certain volcano who finds the need to enter into contract with mortals to feed on their prayers.

[Anonymous No.19484714]

>>19484688
You're misinterpreting the trimurti. If you believe vishnu is the supreme creator then you believe the other two were born from vishnu and are spoken in reference to vishnu because fundamentally there is just vishnu.

Anyways nothing can prove a negative so to say a religion says these are false idols makes no sense. I'm a unitarian universalist christian w jw characteristics. I assert there is only God and we emanate from him and all religions, where they are correct, are Godly or divine.

[Anonymous No.19484946]

>Books on Monotheism

The Qur'an.

[Anonymous No.19485143]

>>19484426
>She does a good book on myth tho too
I might read that, History of God is the only book by her I've read
>She's where the "Muhammed was a feminist" theory came from righ
what

[Anonymous No.19485163]

>>19485143
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-16-me-21897-story.html

[Anonymous No.19485209]

>>19484714
>to say a religion says these are false idols makes no sense.
Ok so you're not a christ--
>I'm a unitarian universalist christian
Uh huh. Alright, well clearly you're more of a new age/theosophy type if you're willing to concede all of Christian theology to find ecumenicism with vashnaivism

[Anonymous No.19485275]

>>19485209
Anyways monotheism isn't rare imo at least not nowadays once you dig into it. As for the last bit there's only one God and I wonder how you deny their spiritual truths without introducing another figure but that's not monotheism anyways.

[Anonymous No.19485321]

>>19484714
>If you believe vishnu is the supreme creator
He is supreme emanator, beyond all dualities. It's monism.

[Anonymous No.19485463]

>>19485321
Again if you believe everything is spoken of in terms of vishnu then you have monotheism. Christianity speaks of everything in terms of God. It seems illogical to have monotheism and not monism.

[Anonymous No.19485470]

>>19485321
>>19485463
Christianity etc have angels for instance.

[Anonymous No.19485505]

>>19484044
>Monotheism seems rare across the world
hinduism is monotheist since all devas are manifestations of Brahman
taoism is also monotheist

[Anonymous No.19485787]

>>19485505
This

[Anonymous No.19485882]

>>19485463
Vishnu is the closest emanation to Niguna Brahman. It's monism. The christian God is separate from creation, it's monotheistic dualism

[Anonymous No.19485933]

>>19485505
Hindus are very obviously polytheists. But they are usually also monists. You can be a monist and a polytheist. It's not monotheism as soon as you have more than one god. It's still monism if there is only one absolute, substance, etc.

[Anonymous No.19485988]

>>19485882
We aren't separated dualistically. Trins use trialism, unis use monism. Augustine said evil is the privation of good.

[Anonymous No.19486002]

>>19485988
So God and Nature are not separate in Abrahamism? Interesting. No one told Spinoza or Bruno apparently.

[Anonymous No.19486051]

>>19486002
That's an interesting split ig. The thing is adam and eve walked without sin in the garden of eden and even noah etc was noble and God went down there too so it seems odd to split it at nature (assuming nature implies sin). I don't think it's impossible but dualism was brought up under a few sects in different ways.

[Anonymous No.19486068]

>>19486002
>>19486051
Ig Jesus was considered under dyophitism fully man and fully divine but that's hardly the rule. A lot of verses which show Jesus as anti material (or as "socialist") don't condemn them itself but show you can't use those to get into heaven. In fact after revelation it's said that earth will be the final place.

[Anonymous No.19487669]

>>19485163
I'm not sure what to make of that lol

[Anonymous No.19487901]

>>19484052
> Imana ruled all living things and gave them immortality by hunting an animal known as Death. Death was a savage wild animal who represented the state of death. While Imana was hunting, everybody was told to stay hidden so that Death would have nobody to kill or take refuge to. But one day while he was hunting, an old woman crept out into her vegetable garden to get vegetables. Death quickly hid under her skirt and was taken inside the house with her. She died because of Death. Three days after the funeral of the old woman, the old woman's daughter-in-law, who hated her, saw cracks where she was buried as if she would arise and live again. She filled the cracks with dirt and pounded the earth with a heavy pestle and cried "Stay dead!" Two days later she did the same thing when she saw more cracks by the grave. Three days later there were no cracks left for her to pound dirt into. This signified the end of man's chances of coming back to life. Death had become endemic or constantly present. Another legend says that Imana punished the woman by letting Death live with man.
Kek, why are women always fucking shit up in these religions? lmao. Where do I go to read some more about the traditional Rwandan religion?

[Anonymous No.19488009]

>>19485163
> Mahomet was a feminist
Yeah no thanks, this person obviously has nothing of value to say lmao.

[Anonymous No.19488025]

>>19488009
It was before 9/11 too

[Anonymous No.19488036]

>>19484080
Not exactly. 'Brahman' is a concept ('ultimate reality') out of which everything arises.
If you're talking about Vaishnavism, or Shaivism or so, it's just a matter of believing who came first and who afterwards. Vaishnavites believe that Vishnu came before Brahma and Shiva. Shaivites believe that Shiva came before Vishnu and Brahma.
Every Hindu God is a personification of a principle, which came out of Brahman (just like all of us).

[Anonymous No.19488041]

>>19486051
>radical reformation
>no mention of car bombing elites
>no mention of politically demonstrative torture based on the divine word of god as lived today in the immediate political circumstances
>no mention of immanentisation of the eschaton via anarchist or marxist analysis of the balance of class forces in Germany
>no mention of hanging priests with the guts of the last landlord

Nice graph, shame you missed the *radical* in radical reformation, and I'm not talking about skateboarding.

Time to read Luther Blisset's _Q_ and Freddie Engel's _Peasants War in Germany_

WHEN ADAM DELVÉD AND EVE SPANNÉ WHO WAS THEN A GENTLEMANNÉ?

[Anonymous No.19488060]

>>19488036
Yeah I suppose I was making the case that following the trimurti or advaita vedantism is actually monotheistic because everything, even the gods are in terms of the supreme creator whoever that would be. Ig it would seem more accurate to just call them all divine, like christians do saints or angels etc, and see which is most divine or is fundamentally divine.

>>19488041
Yeah the anabaptists were pretty insane. Like french revolution tier

[Anonymous No.19488381]

>>19484088
Haha, I get it :)