Polytheism Versus Monotheism
By Biblical Researcher and Award-Winning Author, Eli Kittim
Some Bible critics have argued that there maybe other gods in the universe. However, the Bible itself claims that thereās only one God. Now, you may see that as circular reasoning but there are also valid philosophical arguments which demonstrate that there can only be one cause to the universe, to wit, a āfirst cause.ā Philosophy does not posit a multiplicity of first causes but rather the existence of a single, first cause, just as other theosophical and spiritual traditions have also posited a single incorporeal first cause. Letās not forget that weāre not talking about a genus, a multiplicity of ācontingentā beings, but about the source of everything, a ānecessaryā being that is beyond time and space and beyond being. If there were two such beings, then neither of them would be god. There can only be one maximally great being that can exist in every possible world.
The Cosmological Argument
Plato (c. 427ā347 BCE), in the Timaeus dialogue, posited a "demiurge" of absolute intelligence as the creator of the universe. Plotinus, a 3rd century Neoplatonist philosopher from Alexandria, claimed that the āOneā transcendent absolute caused the cosmos to come into being as a result of its existence (creatio ex deo). Proclus (412ā485 CE), his disciple, later clarified that āThe One is God.ā
Similarly, according to Aristotle, the āunmoved moverā (Gk. į½ Īæį½ ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪæĻĪ¼ĪµĪ½ĪæĪ½ ĪŗĪ¹Ī½Īµįæ, lit. āthat which moves without being movedā) or āprime moverā is the main cause (or first uncaused cause) of all the motion in the cosmos but is not itself moved or caused by any previous action or causation. Notice that the so-called āfirst causeā arguments do not entail multiplicity or diversity but rather unity and oneness.
In other words, nothing can come into being from nothing. Think about everything you see around you: your house, your car, your phone, your computer, your clothes, your food, your furniture, your TV, your parents, your friends, even yourself. Everything comes from something else. And the further back you go in time, in trying to unravel what caused what, the more you realize that everything came from something else. Someone or something either designed it, produced it, formed it, or gave it birth. If there were 2 gods, we would have to ask who came first? Who brought the second god into being?
However, the cosmological argument necessarily presupposes a single cause, which itself was never caused, namely, a timeless being, capable of creating everything (i.e. all contingent beings). Otherwise, if there was no first āunmoved mover,ā there would be an infinite regress of causal dependency ad infinitum. This āfirst causeā can therefore be inferred via the concept of causation. This is not unlike Leibnizā āprinciple of sufficient reasonā nor unlike Parmenidesā ānothing comes from nothingā (Gk. Īæį½Ī“į½²Ī½ į¼Ī¾ Īæį½Ī“ĪµĪ½ĻĻ; Lat. ex nihilo nihil fit)! All these arguments demonstrate not only that there must be a ānecessaryā being that designed and sustained the universe, but also that there can only be āoneā such being!
The One God of the Old Testament
Epistemology is a philosophical branch that questions the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge. The possible sources of knowledge that could justify a belief are based on perception, memory, reason, and testimony. Thus, divine revelation, which was subsequently transcribed or inscripturated, would certainly qualify as ātestimony.ā
There are multiple passages in both Testaments of the Bible where God declares to be without a counterpart: without an equal. Similar to the āAbsolute Beingā of philosophy which is logically inferred as a single, first cause, the Old Testament clearly affirms the existence of only one God. So, the uniqueness of a single God can also be attested by Divine Revelation. Scripture is therefore a witness to the reality of Godās existence as being unparalleled and unique. For example, in Isaiah 44.6-7 (NRSV), God declares that there are no other gods in the universe except him. He exclaims:
I am the first and I am the last; besides me
there is no god. Who is like me? Let them
proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth
In Isaiah 42.8, God states that he doesnāt share his glory with anyone. He alone is God without equal or rival:
I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I
give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
Moreover, in Isaiah 43.10-11, God declares categorically and unequivocally that there were no gods formed before him, nor will there be any gods formed after him:
Before me no god was formed, nor shall
there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and
besides me there is no savior.
This truth is reiterated several times in Isaiah 45.18, 21:
For thus says the Lord, who created the
heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth
and made it (he established it; he did not
create it a chaos, he formed it to be
inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no
There is no other god besides me, a
righteous God and a Savior; there is no one
This assertion, of course, implies that there are not multiple gods that receive many different forms of religious worship but rather a single Godhead sans equal.
In Isaiah 46.9-10, God sets a unique standard against which all other theories are measured, namely, the fulfillment of prophecy. That is to say, no one else can predict the future except God himself:
I am God, and there is no other; I am God,
and there is no one like me, declaring the
end from the beginning and from ancient
times things not yet done.
Similarly, 2 Sam. 7.22 seems to attest to the truth of Godās oneness by way of divine revelation (cf. 2 Pet 1.18):
You are great, O Lord God; for there is no
one like you, and there is no God besides
you, according to all that we have heard
The One God of the New Testament
When we turn to the Christian scriptures, we find the exact same theme concerning one God who reigns supreme above humanity and the heavenly host. At no point in Scripture is there any hint that there are other gods that exist beside the God of the Old and New Testaments. John 17.3, for instance, brings to bear the authority of Scripture on the matter by calling the source of all creation āthe only true God.ā Critics of the Trinity (who view it as polytheistic) should be rebuffed because in the Johannine gospel Jesus clearly establishes that thereās *one essence* between himself and God. He proclaims, āThe Father and I are oneā (10.30).
TheĀ Christian doctrineĀ of theĀ Trinity holds thatĀ GodĀ isĀ one God, but three coeternal, consubstantialĀ persons orĀ hypostasesātheĀ Father, theĀ SonĀ (JesusĀ Christ), and theĀ Holy Spiritāas "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios). Paul the apostle also knows through direct revelations that āGod is oneā (Rom. 3.30). Paul understands that the Triune God is not equivalent to multiple gods but is rather a *monotheistic supreme deity* (1 Cor. 8.6 emphasis added):
there is ONE GOD, the Father, from whom
are all things and for whom we exist, and
one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are
all things and through whom we exist.
Colossians 1.15-16 explains that no other god or gods created the universe except God the Father (the source) through his Son (who is his image or reflection):
He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation; for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powersāall things
have been created through him and for him.
1 Tim. 2.5 basically reiterates the exact same concept of the ONE GOD, not as 2 or 3 separate beings, but as ONE BEING (in multiple persons):
For there is one God; there is also one
mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human.
Similarly, Hebrews 1.2-3 reveals the exact same *truth* regarding a single God and his Son, āthrough whom he also created the worldsā:
in these last days he [God] has spoken to
us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, through whom he also created the
worlds. He [Christ] is the reflection of God's
glory and the exact imprint of God's very
being, and he sustains all things by his
God is Truth & Does Not Lie
The Bible repeatedly reminds us that God is truth, holiness, and veritable love itself, and therefore he does not lie. The Old Testament verifies his truthfulness by instructing us to imitate his holiness. Exodus 20.16 says,
You shall not bear false witness against
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.
What is more, there are many Bible passages that demonstrate unlimited confidence in Godās honesty, transparency, and accountability. Titus 1.1-2 (emphasis added) is such a passage:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of
God's elect and the knowledge of the truth
that is in accordance with godliness, in the
hope of eternal life that God, WHO NEVER
LIES, promised before the ages beganā
In John 17.17 (ESV), Jesus himself says to God the Father:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is
This is reminiscent of Isaiah 65.16 (ESV) which calls the creator, āthe God of truth.ā He is similarly acknowledged in Deuteronomy 32.4 (NKJV) as āA God of truth and without injustice.ā
In Numbers 23.19 (NRSV), God is further attested as a higher-being whose good character precludes deception and lies:
God is not a human being, that he should
lie, or a mortal, that he should change his
mind. Has he promised, and will he not do
Moreover, the doctrine of the Immutability of God describes an attribute of God which prevents him from changing his will or character. It implies that He will make good on all of his promises. Hebrews 6:18 (ICB) puts it thusly:
These two things cannot change. God
cannot lie when he makes a promise, and
he cannot lie when he makes an oath.
These things encourage us who came to
God for safety. They give us strength to
hold on to the hope we have been given.
This life has no guarantees. So, from an interdisciplinary perspective, when there are multiple lines of evidence concerning one Godāācoupled with cases abounding in the āreligious-experience literatureā down through the agesāāthe *testimony* becomes rather robust and trustworthy! In other words, the religious testimony is ipso facto a possible source of knowledge. And this global testimonyāāwhich goes far beyond the Judeo-Christian Bible and includes other world religionsāāindicates that only one God exists. If we add the philosophical arguments that also assert a first cause regarding everything that has been created in the cosmos, then we can safely say that there can only be one God that is responsible for creating and sustaining the universe!
