Mono or Poly? How Many Gods Can One Man Worship?

According to Karen Armstrong, author of The Beginning of our Religious Traditions, the 'Great Transformation' aids in our overall understanding of the concept of God. "This transformation occurred independently in four different regions during the Axial Age, a pivotal period lasting from 900 B.C. to 200 B.C., producing Taoism and Confucianism in China, Buddhism and Hinduism in India, Judaism in the Middle East and philosophic rationalism in Greece" (Grimes). The dominant religious groups contained in these four regions aid in the understanding of what God has come to represent in the world today.

There were two religious leaders in China during the Axial Age, Lao Tzu and Confucius. Both of these men spoke of the ancient rituals or sage. Lao Tzu believed in the Tao and the ideal of non-action or Wu Wei. "He who attains Tao is everlasting. Though his body may decay, he never perishes" (Jaspers, 401). The Tao is much like an everlasting force that invades us and can blind us from enlightenment. "Only in the Tao that is free from being is the source attained. This source is not nothing in the sense of not-at-all, but in the sense of more-than-being, whence come existing things: 'And being comes to nonbeing." (Jaspers, 390).

Confucius believed that order is preserved by customs (Li, imperatives of conduct). "A nation can be guided only by custom, not by knowledge." Confucius concluded the Chinese customs to include right way of walking, greeting, behaving in company, the ways of conducting sacrifices and observing holidays; the rites of marriage, birth, death, and burial; the rules of administration; the customs governing work, war, the family, the priesthood, the court; the order of the days and seasons, the stages of life. (Jaspers, 45).

Hinduism is considered to be a Henotheist religion. Henotheists accept that other gods exist but choose to worship one Supreme Being. The Hindu God is three persons in one being, or simply, a triad; Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. According to Rishikesh Athalye, "Hinduism is a way of living, a way of looking at the world, as well as a belief system" (Woosley). Their belief system consists of three parts. Dharma is seen as certain obligations or individual ethics. Karma can most easily be compared to luck based on moral decisions. Moksha is the belief in a salvation for every soul through a variety of paths, including selfless action, enlightenment, meditation and a belief in God (Woosley).

While Buddha, or the enlightened one, was "in meditation he saw with the divine, clear sighted suprasensory eye" (Jaspers, 26). In essence, Buddhism is the discovery of "the middle path...the path of salvation" (Jaspers, 23). Buddha better explained this pathway to Nirvana with the Noble Eightfold Path as follows; right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavor, right mindfulness, right meditation. "His insight is uttered as a doctrine: neither worldly pleasure nor ascetic mortification of the flesh is the right of way of life. The former is ignoble, the latter is rich in suffering, and neither leads to the goal...passing-away to eternity, from worldly existence to Nirvana (Jaspers, 23).

The rise of Judaism meant the rise of monotheism but "if anybody had asked Amos or Ezekiel if he was a 'monotheist,' who believed in only one God, he would have been... perplexed (Montanarelli). God was constantly revealing himself to his chosen people and prophets through powerful demonstrations in the Old Testament. According to 1 Kings 21-40, Elijah challenged the followers of Baal to a sacrificial offering to determine who the most powerful God of all was. Baal did not rain fire down from the heavens like Yahweh had, after all the people saw this they "fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord - he is God! The Lord - he is God!" This was only one of the powerful statements that Yahweh made showing the power he had over his people and planet.

The rise of rational thinking in Greece came about as philosophical doctrine. It was not based entirely on religion like many of the other regions at this time. "Socrates does not hand down wisdom but makes him aware of his ignorance, so leading him to find authentic knowledge in himself" (Jaspers, 9). The philosophic movement was about asking questions not necessarily about answering them. Through dialogue, a clear understanding could be achieved. This was the basis of Socratic thinking, talking about the great questions in history.

During the Axial Age, many cultural concepts were developing into what are now standards in society. Religion provided an adequate channel to promote ethics and also allowed for neighboring social groups to live in peace. "The Axial Age was a time of spiritual genius; we live in an age of scientific and technological genius, and our spiritual education is often undeveloped" (Grimes). These four regions, all believed in different ideals. However they were all beginning to realize that a better system was needed in order to promote widespread peace and understanding. Armstrong makes a plea for the warriors and aggressors of the world to heed the teachings of the Axial Age. It is time, she argues, for the modern world to adopt the Axial ideals of "sympathy, respect and universal concern."(Grimes). In other words, "can't we all just get along?"

References

Fleming, K.E. (2005). God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between
Monotheism and Polytheism. History, 33(4), 131. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 903211851).

Grimes, William (2006, April 21). The World's Spiritual Awakening, From Gods to
God :[Review]. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. E.34. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from Banking Information Source database. (Document ID: 1024333461).

Jaspers, Karl. The Great Philosophers: The Great Thinkers. Lao-Tzu handout, PP: 388-
415

Jaspers. Karl. Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus. [from the Great Philosophers, Vol. 1].
Harvest Book. Harcourt Brace & Co; San Diego: 1957.

Montanarelli, Lisa (2006 April 9). Inside every religion, the Golden Rule:[Review]. San
Francisco Chronicle, p. M1. Retrieved February 5, 2008

Woosley, Leigh. World Staff Writer (2006, August 28). Opening Up: Area Hindus
explain their faith :[FINAL HOME EDITION]. Tulsa World,p. A1. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from ProQuest Newsstand database. (Document ID: 1116932781).