#monotheism

Quran(34,24) Listen

Di: ¿Quién os da la provisión desde los cielos y la tierra?Di: Allah. Y necesariamente uno de los dos, o nosotros o vosotros, está guiado; mientras que los otros están en un claro extravío.

De ki: "Göklerden ve yerden sizi rızıklandıran kimdir?" De ki: "Allah'tır. Öyleyse doğru yolda veya apaçık bir sapıklıkta olan ya biziz ya sizsiniz."

 Katakanlah: "Siapakan yang memberi rezeki kepadamu dari langit dan dari bumi?" Katakanlah: "Allah", dan sesungguhnya kami atau kamu (orang-orang musyrik), pasti berada dalam kebenaran atau dalam kesesatan yang nyata.

तो मुक़र्रिब फरिश्ते कहते हैं कि जो वाजिबी था (ऐ रसूल) तुम (इनसे) पूछो तो कि भला तुमको सारे आसमान और ज़मीन से कौन रोज़ी देता है (वह क्या कहेंगे) तुम खुद कह दो कि खुदा और मैं या तुम (दोनों में से एक तो) ज़रूर राहे रास्त पर है (और दूसरा गुमराह) या वह सरीही गुमराही में पड़ा है (और दूसरा राहे रास्त पर)

 (ای پیامبر! به مشرکان) بگو :«چه کسی شما را از آسمانها و زمین روزی می دهد؟» (در پاسخ) بگو :«الله، و ما یا شما بر (طریق) هدایت یا در گمراهی آشکار هستیم».

 پوچھو کہ تم کو آسمانوں اور زمین سے کون رزق دیتا ہے؟ کہو کہ خدا اور ہم یا تم (یا تو) سیدھے رستے پر ہیں یا صریح گمراہی میں

বলুন, নভোমন্ডল ও ভূ-মন্ডল থেকে কে তোমাদের কে রিযিক দেয়। বলুন, আল্লাহ। আমরা অথবা তোমরা সৎপথে অথবা স্পষ্ট বিভ্রান্তিতে আছি ও আছ?

From an external, academic, comparative religions perspective, reasonable people can amicably disagree on classification.

But is that really the best perspective we can apply to the question?

Christians, after all, universally self-identify as monotheistic and have complex theological ideas which allow them to see their Trinity as one G-d in three personae.

Look:

You know how much most Jews dislike it when some Christians evaluate Judaism only through the lens of Christian framing?

The way such Christians describe synagogues as "Jewish churches," Rabbis as "Jewish priests," the Tanakh as "the incomplete Bible," and Jews as "incomplete Christians"?

It's exasperating to endure that, right? If you know anything about Judaism (or, frankly, the history of the Church) you recognize this perspective as false, chauvinistic, and intellectually lazy.

I think seeking to judge Christian belief through the lens of Jewish framing is a lot like that.

I like to encourage Jews to study the religious beliefs of others in the respectful way we'd like them to learn about Judaism: in their own contexts.

Rather than seeking to pigeonhole Christian belief as outside of Jewish conceptions of monotheism, why not read their literature and seek to understand the thinking through which they see themselves as monotheistic and the very different way they conceive of the oneness of the divine?

Wouldn't that be more productive?

More kind? More fruitful?

Isn't that a better question?

And isn't seeking the better question...very Jewish?

(For Catholics, btw, Saints are not deities - they're role models and conduits.)

Hello! My name is Calico! I'm an adult and I use she/they/it/any pronouns except for he/him along with you/your and thou/thee second person pronouns. And this blog is for anything anti religion or anything that is bigoted or against religions, spiritual practices, and magical beliefs of any kind!

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It's a form of universal monotheism. Eywa isn't just a god that certain Na'vi worship: she's the God, an utterly supreme being, the wellspring of all life as well as its benevolent ruler and caretaker. Every rule the Na'vi live by, every choice they make, is influenced by her ineffable, infinite will.

That's. That's just Christianity, dude. I mean, it's not the only religion to hold these beliefs, but it is one of a minority of monotheistic religions that works this way. So why do we think of this concept as universal? Well, because two of those religions - Christianity and Islam - are some of the most popularly practiced religions on the planet.

Despite that, though, this model is neither universal nor generic. In fact, the most "baseline" model of monotheism I know of is simply "We respect that other gods exist, but this one is ours." It's a matter of loyalty, and sometimes supremacy - not totality. So if the Na'vi were simply Generic Monotheists, probably every nation would have its own specific god, who would be deeply important but also not planet-sized or In Control Of Everything.

Communication would also probably work in a different way from what we see in the movies. Have you noticed how essentially anyone can commune with Eywa whenever, but it also takes a special person to understand and interpret her will for the masses? Yeah, that's because she's modeled on a god that everyone is supposedly in contact with but obviously never talks back.

(*Examples: You are in HR and god manages human relationships and resources of the world, you are a writer and god writes the universe, you are a customer service worker and God is a tired sales clerk going through prayers like coupons)