Christian Polytheism

[abaris]

One of the single largest factors in my deciding the xtianity was a huge pile of dogshit.

Obviously, not bad enough for Drippy or the rest of the sheep, though.

Exactly. I actually called bullshit on the trinity story when I was still a child.

[Brian37]

Missing the point and proving my point.

No one is arguing the Catholic god as their fans interpret him as being polytheistic.

What we are arguing is the behavior of praying to multiple icons stems from polytheism. The reason is that back in that time early Christianity was literally competing with polytheism. That is why you have a three headed/entity that is one. On top of praying to Mary and Saints. Just like the Greeks and Romans, prayed to more than one god.

The trinity motif is actually NOT unique to Christianity or Catholics. The divine family of the Ancient Egyptians was three headed too. Rey or "Ra" the head god was the top deity, and under him was Osirus and Horus. And they also had that trinity in Judgement of the dead where all three sat in judgment of humans.

Even today in Mormonism you have Joseph Smith and Jesus sitting in final Judgment.

Catholics pray to Marry, and Jesus and Saints just like the Egyptians prayed to the Sun, to Osirus and Horus.

How about you consider that humans make up religions and the only reason that any religion exists is because humans compete to create new ones and get their ideas from prior and surrounding religions.

Yes the Catholic god as the followers view it IS monotheistic. But the act of praying to different icons within the religion stems from the reality at that time that they were competing with polytheism.

You may have gone off on this tangent, but the OP Specifically asks the question I just answered.

No I have not. You are simply ignoring factual reality. Christianity did not magically pop out of nothing. It was at that time surrounded by other polytheism. It was prior to Constantine popularizing it for political gain, a minority. Typical tactic in business as well is to look at surrounding products and adapt their motifs to compete.

The fact still remains that Catholics worship multiple icons and pray to them. The reason they started that is to compete with the multiple gods in polytheism. The only thing they did was popularize the idea of one god, but that does not change that they still pray to multiple icons.

It also does not change that there WERE prior motifs and stories as ideas that came out of polytheism. Savior gods, judgment of the dead, curing illness, female purity, all ideas that existed in prior polytheism.

Not even the Hebrews which Christianity came from is original. The name "Yahweh" came from Canaanite polytheism. In that polytheism he was a lesser god in a "divine family" under the top god "El".

There is nothing original about any religion. Humans invent them from prior and surrounding ideas. Mormanism and Scientology started like that too. Smith was a con man, and L Ron Hubbard was a Si Fi writer but both took the ideas of Christianity to start their new religions.

All religions are concoctions stemming from prior and surrounding competing clubs. There is no god of any kind causing humans to compete for his love. There are merely humans falling for them and making new ones. In 10,000 years it is very unlikely even if any of the big three were to still exist, that they would look anything like what humans see today, and it is more likely that they will die out and be replaced with other god/s and or religions.

[Exian]

I was raised a Catholic and we were taught that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit were three distinct individuals. Wouldn't that be polytheism?

No polytheism says there is more than one God.
Even Catholics say there is only one God. But at the same time we have been given three distinct deities identified as that one God. That simply means God is a title and not a name. As in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

That is how three indivisuals can be only one God.

If its a title wouldn't it be Father the God, Son the God, and Holy Spirit the God?

[abaris]

If its a title wouldn't it be Father the God, Son the God, and Holy Spirit the God?

Or "god all inclusive package".

[FatAndFaithless]

Or God Deluxe™

[Godscreated]

Hinduism basically has the same trinity concept going, and Mithras from Hinduism has a similar life to Jesus. So it's quite possible that christianity just borrowed from hinduism or something like that. Or maybe it was zoroastrianism.

Up until the time of Isiah the Jewish religion was a purely polythetic religion. There were many gods one of whom was Yahweh and he had a wife named Asherah. For what ever reason the scribes edited out all the polytheism and adopted a monothetic view.

Now that Christianity has come along It's one God but actually 3 people (polytheism). In Catholic school we were told, you don't have to understand it just believe it by faith.

It amazes me how little people know about the scriptures yet believe they are experts on the scriptures. How is it someone can be so blind to what scripture actually says, oh I forgot you all believe what your told by others who know no more about the scriptures than you do. The Jewish scribes are historically known for their accurate copying of the scriptures, making sure nothing ever got changed, they would destroy any scroll that had an error copied into it.
Why do you think God told the Israelites to destroy everything when they went into Canaan, so they wouldn't adopt the gods of wood and stone into their lives. If you would have payed attention to the prophecy while they were wondering in the desert, God said He would punish them for their disobedience for turning away from Him after they came into the Promise Land.
For those who think that Jesus was a separate deity from the Father, He repeatedly stated He and the Father are one. Jesus told his disciples that because you have seen me you have seen the Father.
God reveals himself in the three persons of the trinity, He is one God revealed in three persons.
Also denying the historically accurate scriptures is an act of foolishness and a denial of any intelligence you have. Did you know the scriptures have named one of the Pharaohs of Egypt's 25th dynasty. Even the museums in Egypt do not name any of them. Do you know why, because they were black, a black races south of Egypt concurred them and sat on the throne around 100 years.

GC

[abaris]

Or God Deluxe™

Get three for the price of one

[Brian37]

Up until the time of Isiah the Jewish religion was a purely polythetic religion. There were many gods one of whom was Yahweh and he had a wife named Asherah. For what ever reason the scribes edited out all the polytheism and adopted a monothetic view.

Now that Christianity has come along It's one God but actually 3 people (polytheism). In Catholic school we were told, you don't have to understand it just believe it by faith.

It amazes me how little people know about the scriptures yet believe they are experts on the scriptures. How is it someone can be so blind to what scripture actually says, oh I forgot you all believe what your told by others who know no more about the scriptures than you do. The Jewish scribes are historically known for their accurate copying of the scriptures, making sure nothing ever got changed, they would destroy any scroll that had an error copied into it.
Why do you think God told the Israelites to destroy everything when they went into Canaan, so they wouldn't adopt the gods of wood and stone into their lives. If you would have payed attention to the prophecy while they were wondering in the desert, God said He would punish them for their disobedience for turning away from Him after they came into the Promise Land.
For those who think that Jesus was a separate deity from the Father, He repeatedly stated He and the Father are one. Jesus told his disciples that because you have seen me you have seen the Father.
God reveals himself in the three persons of the trinity, He is one God revealed in three persons.
Also denying the historically accurate scriptures is an act of foolishness and a denial of any intelligence you have. Did you know the scriptures have named one of the Pharaohs of Egypt's 25th dynasty. Even the museums in Egypt do not name any of them. Do you know why, because they were black, a black races south of Egypt concurred them and sat on the throne around 100 years.

GC

No, you are looking at your own point of view. You are not looking outside your own point of view. Of course how you view the scriptures is going to set you up to being right. All religious people of all religions do this with their own books and traditions.

You need to take yourself out of your own desires and look at the bigger world in the entirety of our species. You know rightfully that others simply chose their religion and that their religion is not true. You can accept that Scientology was started by a Si Fi writer. You can accept that Mormonism was started by a mere man and not a prophet.

You simply refuse to accept the fact that your religion is merely a product of prior religions. Humans make up religions. That is all there is to it and you are not different.

---

"He is one god in three persons" sounds like "Ra, Osirus, Horus". You are stuck on details when we are pointing out MOTIF in the idea of a trinity. Christianity was not the first to come up with a "three pronged power". Instead of one god the Egyptians had 3 gods in their trinity.

Still not original. Horus was a savior god. Horus sat at the right hand of Osirus under Ra in judgment of the dead. Thot spit in his eye to cure his blindness. The first "Madonna and Child" was Isis holding the savior god Horus, is depicted on the Temple of Luxor.

[Chad32]

One god, with multiple personality disorder.
Also, if you're into catholics, there's a ton of saints, or semi-gods.

Mankind finds it difficult to accept the notion of one single entity controlling the whole of the cosmos... I can't blame them.

Even emperors had advisers, right? Even when the last word was held by one individual, was there ever just one single person who had a voice? So the idea of there just being one single guy at the top with no equal, or advisers.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I guess the OP wasn't really a question; but rather an excuse to start an argument. (sigh)