Monotheism

Renegade, Pioneer, or Vulture?

There's an internal terror in monotheism.

It can be understood in two ways:

  1. the terror it causes, and
  2. the internal terror that drives it.

How does Bausani distinguish between primary and secondary monotheisms (cf. p. 168)?

If Fitzgerald is correct, that we can't separate between religion and politics, can we explain the ethic of monotheism in "political" terms (see p. 169ff.)?

Now, in terms of its function as a religion:

 

A religion cannot persist if it cannot explain how the exercise of coercive power in the world of immediate experience conforms to, is encompassed by, or at least does not refute the religion's own theory of how things are or ought to be. (POWR, 3)

Fantastic Thesis*

In Brief

 

 

 

"Monotheism" is an attempt to build a stable, protected "world." "God" takes on the function of a shared symbol that represents that world. "Revelation" is the process by which the patterns of that world are legitimated (in the collective mind of the community).

 

All groups, fundamentalist to liberal, share this heritage. How they engage it will mark some of the differences between them.

A Bit Briefer

 

Monotheism is the audacious and religious(1) attempt at bringing meaning, order, and stability into the world.

 

(1)Religious: By which we mean, in a very general sense, an intensive system of valuation and corresponding categorization that presupposes a transcendent meaning and order.

But this guy is not a monotheistic messiah. (Sorry.)

Biblical Monotheism Erupted Out of Social-Political Insecurity

Hey, that's my land!
No, it's not!
Yes, it is!
No, it's not!
Poopie head!

 

Well, maybe less like a pair of four-year olds ...

Hey, everyone! we're here! So how do we control the social environment?

 

The sources of Judaism deal with a lack of political power by pretending none exists. The Israelites receive their revelation from God in the desert, the opposite of territory. Although they are a community and a nation, because they have no monarch, they do not constitute a kingdom. (POWR, 4).

 

(A "community and a nation"? Hmm...)

Monotheistic laws codify the behavior patterns consistent with an ideal world or order. (Recall our Fantastic Thesis.)

 

  • Read Exodus 19-20
  • What are the central tenets of monotheism portrayed in these passages?

Why do monotheisms often seem to favor theocracy?

 

  • A theocracy assumes the absolute authority of the Divine and its representatives (cultic institution).
  • Without material or political power, the early monotheistic community depended upon a different form of power.
  • Even with a bucket-load or a modicum of power--a later development--the Divine continues to represent the shared ideal of the community.

How About a Biblical Example? Ok.

 

Persian Period and later biblical texts (Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai-Zechariah, Deuteronomy, etc.) emphasize the priority of divine authority as a precedent for restoration.

The word of the Lord came to me: Collect silver and gold from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah—who have arrived from Babylon; and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak; say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch: for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he that shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them. And the crown shall be in the care of Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. (Zech 6:9-14)

In the NT, Revelation describes the radical destruction of "this world" to be replaced by a stabilized, peaceful "heaven"--all of which occurs under the power and authority of God.

 

When he opened the sixth seal ... the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb ..." (Rev 6:12-16)

Monotheism, Relevant or Irrelevant Today?

Religion is archaic. Being secular is cool.

 

(Or is it?)

 

Yes, monotheism is irrelevant, he cried pounding his fist.

"Irrelevant," He Cried!

Only to find himself here.

"Um, Relevant," He Defaulted?

In the U.S., for a bow-legged, swaggering example, religious ideologies and loyalties shape public debate and even political policies.

Marriage, anyone? Hey, I know, can we write into federal law a definition for marriage?

Can I buy some liquor 9:00 AM on a Sunday morning? I need to make some pancakes.

AND (this made the rounds on social media, with a little doctoring by the Dr.)

And, who can forget this controversy surrounding the History Channel miniseries:

The ideology of the separation of church and state and some recent interpretations of the First Amendment to the Constitution have conditioned Americans to regard religion and politics as distinct realms of experience. A norm of American life is that religion should not, and generally does not, express itself doctrinally through the activities of government. (POWR, 1-2)

In countries dominated by monotheism, monotheism shapes the dominant rhetoric, value systems, and cultural meanings. Even if one is not a member of the monotheistic tradition.

Overtly and covertly, religion influences political structures and activity by encouraging and enforcing some attitudes and behaviors and by discouraging and disparaging others. (POWR, 2)

But let's let some colorful figures speak for themselves.

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