One God versus many

[The Grand Nudger]

Intercession with the owner of mercy and life everlasting is a valuable service. Pageantry and ritual furniture aren't cheap.

[brewer]

The monotheists only want one daddy to spank them, not the whole village.

[Mister Agenda]

I think the Greek science philosophers put that into a great deal of doubt. 

Sorry I'm slow -- I didn't see this earlier.

First, I should say that I'm talking about the history we actually have. Like it or not, thought in Europe, scientific and otherwise, is completely soaked in Christian theology. Everything is interpreted through the lens of God and Logos, and how they operate through the physical world. Remember that Kepler was court astrologer, Newton was an alchemist, etc. etc. We tend to downplay that part now because we focus on the good things they found and ignore the setting in which they found it.

If European history had gone differently, science may have evolved in different ways, but that's counterfactual speculation.

As for the "Greek science philosophers" I'm not sure. Which ones are you thinking of? 

Remember that while Plato, Aristotle, and all those who followed them didn't explicitly deny the existence of Zeus or Aphrodite, they also took as foundational the idea that there is one overriding Form or Intelligence which gives order to the universe. Christian theology easily adopted this single source of order as being their God. 

And the Chinese came up with the Four Great Inventions (compasses, papermaking, printing, and gunpowder) without benefit of monotheism (not to mention the last 100 years or so).

The Chinese case is interesting. It's been a long time since I read Joseph Needham, so I guess I have to look again.

It's clear, though, that Chinese thought put great importance on the Mandate of Heaven. 天命 -- literally, "heaven rule." It was used politically to justify the rule or overthrow of emperors, but depends on the idea that Heaven -- a single transcendent source of order -- is required to keep the world operating. When people get out of line with that order there is trouble. 

But I don't know what metaphysics specifically the inventors of gunpowder had in mind.

edit:

More from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactio...nd_Mankind

"Interactions Between Heaven and Mankind is said to originate from The Great Plan [of Jizi], the 24th Scroll of the Book of Documents. Dong Zhongshu based his doctrines on this theoretical framework, believing that heaven (天) had its own consciousness and controlled everything through the “100 Lords of Heaven” with all natural laws and variations in human affairs decided by them." emphasis added

Thanks for getting to me. It seems to me that in many polytheistic traditions, including Hinduism and American Indian spirituality, you can find monotheism if you look hard enough.