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91-606: Pūluga (or Puluga ) is the creator in the religion of the indigenous inhabitants of the Andaman Islands . According to Andaman mythology [ lt ] , Puluga ceased to visit the people when they became remiss of the commands given to them at the creation. Then, without further warning he sent a devastating flood. Only four people survived this flood: two men, Loralola and Poilola, and two women, Kalola and Rimalola. When they landed they found they had lost their fire and all living things had perished. Puluga then recreated
182-550: A demiurge out of a primordial state of matter (known in religious studies as chaos after the Greek term used by Hesiod in his Theogony ). Jewish thinkers took up the idea, which became important to Judaism. According to Islam , the creator deity, God, known in Arabic as Allah , is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator, Sustainer, Ordainer, and Judge of the universe. Creation is seen as an act of divine choice and mercy, one with
273-476: A conscious and immaterial entity like God cannot create a material entity like the universe. Furthermore, according to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires achieves liberation. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. Moral rewards and sufferings are not the work of a divine being, but a result of an innate moral order in
364-591: A different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle ( kalpa , aeon). Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas , and among the most studied and described. Born from a lotus emerging from the navel of Vishnu , Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. In contrast, the Shiva -focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara , that
455-584: A grand purpose: "And We did not create the heaven and earth and that between them in play." Rather, the purpose of humanity is to be tested: "Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving;" Those who pass the test are rewarded with Paradise: "Verily for the Righteous there will be a fulfilment of (the heart's) desires;" According to
546-561: A monotheistic view. The Naiyanikas have given an argument that such a god can only be one. In the Nyaya Kusumanjali , this is discussed against the proposition of the Mimamsa school that let us assume there were many demigods ( devas ) and sages ( rishis ) in the beginning, who wrote the Vedas and created the world. Nyaya says that: [If they assume such] omniscient beings, those endowed with
637-525: A moral agent. The second account, in contrast to the regimented seven-day scheme of Genesis 1, uses a simple flowing narrative style that proceeds from God's forming the first man through the Garden of Eden to the creation of the first woman and the institution of marriage. In contrast to the omnipotent God of Genesis 1 creating a god-like humanity, the God of Genesis 2 can fail as well as succeed. The humanity he creates
728-471: A new capital in honor of Aten, Akhenaten also oversaw the construction of some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt, including one at Karnak and one at Thebes, close to the old temple of Amun . In Year 9 (1344/1342 BCE), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon, but the only God of Egypt, with himself as
819-417: A powerful presentation of what the monotheists denounce as Hindu Polytheism. I had never read anything like it. It was a revelation to me that Monotheism was not a religious concept but an imperialist idea. I must confess that I myself had been inclined towards Monotheism till this time. I had never thought that a multiplicity of Gods was the natural and spontaneous expression of an evolved consciousness. Sikhi
910-444: A secondary creator from the primary transcendent being, identified as a primary creator. According to Gaudiya Vaishnavas , Brahma is the secondary creator and not the supreme. Vishnu is the primary creator. According to Vaishnava belief Vishnu creates the basic universal shell and provides all the raw materials and also places the living entities within the material world, fulfilling their own independent will. Brahma works with
1001-418: A similar polytheistic monism that bore some similarities to monotheism. The first known reference to a unitary God is Plato 's Demiurge (divine Craftsman), followed by Aristotle 's unmoved mover , both of which would profoundly influence Jewish and Christian theology. According to contemporary Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, monotheism was the original religion of humanity; this original religion
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#17328513543061092-517: A single God as the source of all things. Although a pantheon of spirits exists, these are lesser spirits prevalent in Odinani expressly serving as elements of Chineke (or Chukwu ), the supreme being or high god. Waaq is the name of a singular God in the traditional religion of many Cushitic people in the Horn of Africa , denoting an early monotheistic religion. However this religion was mostly replaced with
1183-545: A solemn prayer hymned by Jonathan , Nehemiah and the Priest of Israel , while making sacrifices in honour of God: "O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all things, who art fearefull, and strong, and righteous, and mercifull, and the onely, and gracious king". The Prologue to the Gospel of John begins with: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same
1274-464: A traditional spirituality that emphasizes the worship of a single god, Nyuy. The Himba people of Namibia practice a form of monotheistic panentheism , and worship the god Mukuru . The deceased ancestors of the Himba and Herero are subservient to him, acting as intermediaries. The Igbo people practice a form of monotheism called Odinani . Odinani has monotheistic and panentheistic attributes, having
1365-447: Is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth , world , and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism , the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a secondary creator from a primary transcendent being, identified as a primary creator. Initiated by Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti around 1330 BCE, during
1456-525: Is a creation ex nihilo . Traditional interpreters argue on grammatical and syntactical grounds that this is the meaning of Genesis 1:1, which is commonly rendered: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." However, other interpreters understand creation ex nihilo as a 2nd-century theological development. According to this view, church fathers opposed notions appearing in pre -Christian creation myths and in Gnosticism —notions of creation by
1547-611: Is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism. The Rig Veda discusses monotheistic thought, as do the Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda : "Devas are always looking to the supreme abode of Vishnu" ( tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sṻrayaḥ Rig Veda 1.22.20) "The One Truth, sages know by many names" ( Rig Veda 1 .164.46) "When at first the unborn sprung into being, He won His own dominion beyond which nothing higher has been in existence" ( Atharva Veda 10.7.31) "There
1638-450: Is a monotheistic and a revealed religion . God in Sikhism is called Akal Purakh (which means "The Immortal Being") or Vāhigurū (Wondrous Enlightener). However, other names like Rama , Brahman , Khuda , Allah , etc. are also used to refer to the same God, who is shapeless , timeless , and sightless : niraṅkār , akaal , and alakh . Sikhi presents a unique perspective where God
1729-657: Is a monotheistic faith that arose in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sikhs believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib , known as the Mul Mantra , signifies this: The word "ੴ" ("Ik ōaṅkār") has two components. The first is ੧, the digit "1" in Gurmukhi signifying the singularity of
1820-523: Is best characterized as monotheistic, polytheistic, or henotheistic religion due to the centrality of Ahriman as a component or opposite force of Ahura Mazda. Post-exilic Judaism, after the late 6th century BCE, was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context. The concept of ethical monotheism , which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism , but
1911-483: Is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed. Hinduism is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization. The Nasadiya Sukta ( Creation Hymn ) of the Rigveda is one of the earliest texts which "demonstrates a sense of metaphysical speculation" about what created
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#17328513543062002-423: Is distinguished from henotheism , a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism , the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term monolatry was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen . Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Atenism , Bábism ,
2093-460: Is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator. In Mandaeism , Hayyi Rabbi (lit=The Great Life), or 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate . He is also known as 'The First Life', since during the creation of the material world, Yushamin emanated from Hayyi Rabbi as the "Second Life." "The principles of the Mandaean doctrine: the belief of
2184-576: Is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra , or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ( kalpa ). Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god. In other versions of creation, the creator deity is the one who is equivalent to the Brahman , the metaphysical reality in Hinduism. In Vaishnavism , Vishnu creates Brahma and orders him to order
2275-566: Is monotheist as well as pantheist. The Great Spirit , called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux , and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian , is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nation cultures. According to Lakota activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery. Indeed, "Wanka Tanka" among
2366-420: Is no other way open. In other words, Nyaya says that the polytheist would have to give elaborate proofs for the existence and origin of his several celestial spirits, none of which would be logical, and that it is more logical to assume one eternal, omniscient god. Many other Hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. The famous Hindu revitalist leader Ram Swarup , for example, points to
2457-612: Is none to compare with Him. There is no parallel to Him, whose glory, verily, is great." ( Yajur Veda 32.3) The number of auspicious qualities of God are countless, with the following six qualities ( bhaga ) being the most important: In the Shaivite tradition, the Shri Rudram ( Sanskrit श्रि रुद्रम्), to which the Chamakam (चमकम्) is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu stotra dedicated to Rudra (an epithet of Shiva ), taken from
2548-467: Is not god-like, but is punished for acts which would lead to their becoming god-like (Genesis 3:1-24) and the order and method of creation itself differs. "Together, this combination of parallel character and contrasting profile point to the different origin of materials in Genesis 1:1 and Gen 2:4, however elegantly they have now been combined." An early conflation of Greek philosophy with the narratives in
2639-463: Is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Baháʼí Faith. Also from the 6th century BCE, Thales (followed by other Monists, such as Anaximander , Anaximenes , Heraclitus , Parmenides ) proposed that nature can be explained by reference to a single unitary principle that pervades everything. Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes , believed in
2730-527: Is one, and material monism which holds that everything including all material reality is one and the same thing. Buddhism denies a creator deity and posits that mundane deities such as Mahabrahma are misperceived to be a creator. Jainism does not support belief in a creator deity. According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituents—soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion have always existed (a static universe similar to that of Epicureanism and steady state cosmological model ). All
2821-528: Is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed." ). Islam teaches that God as referenced in the Qur'an is the only god and the same God worshipped by members of other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Judaism. One of the biggest responsibilities in the faith of Sikhism is to worship God as "The Creator", termed Waheguru , who is shapeless, timeless, and sightless, i.e., Nirankar , Akal, and Alakh Niranjan . The religion only takes after
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2912-520: Is present ( sarav viāpak ) in all of its creation and does not exist outside of its creation. God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart". Sikhs follow the Aad Guru Granth Sahib and are instructed to meditate on the Naam (Name of God - Vāhigurū ) to progress towards enlightenment, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings. Sikhism
3003-517: Is seen as the origin of life and a force of motion. The Bakongo believe that life requires constant change and perpetual motion. Nzambi Mpunga is also referred to as Kalûnga, the God of change. Similarities between the Bakongo belief of Kalûnga and the Big Bang Theory have been studied. Nzambi is also said to have created two worlds. As Kalûnga filled mbûngi, it created an invisible line that divided
3094-461: Is sometimes referred to as "the Adamic religion", or, in the terms of Andrew Lang , the " Urreligion ". Scholars of religion largely abandoned that view in the 19th and 20th centuries in favour of an evolutionary progression from animism via polytheism to monotheism. Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt had postulated an Urmonotheismus , "original" or "primitive monotheism" in the 1910s. It
3185-644: Is the Subtle, the Acquainted." God in Islam is not only majestic and sovereign, but also a personal God: "And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge)." Allah commands the believers to constantly remember Him ("O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance" ) and to invoke Him alone ("And whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof—then his account
3276-420: Is the creator of the world. Monotheism Monotheism is the belief that one god is the only, or at least the dominant deity . A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God. Monotheism
3367-612: The Abrahamic religions . Some (approximately 3%) of Oromo still follow this traditional monotheistic religion called Waaqeffanna in Oromo . Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (1348/1346 BCE) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom . He raised Aten , once a relatively obscure Egyptian solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in
3458-595: The Baháʼí Faith , Christianity , Deism , Druzism , Eckankar , Islam , Judaism , Mandaeism , Manichaeism , Rastafari , Samaritanism , Seicho-no-Ie , Sikhism , Tenrikyo , Yazidism , and Zoroastrianism . Elements of monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as ancient Chinese religion , Tengrism , and Yahwism . The word monotheism was coined from the Greek μόνος ( monos ) meaning "single" and θεός ( theos ) meaning " god ". The term
3549-614: The Israelite people's belief in one God . The first major comprehensive draft of the Pentateuch (the series of five books which begins with Genesis and ends with Deuteronomy ) was composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BCE (the Jahwist source) and was later expanded by other authors (the Priestly source ) into a work very similar to Genesis as known today. The two sources can be identified in
3640-630: The Nasadiya Sukta . Later, ancient Hindu theology was monist , but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman. In China, the orthodox faith system held by most dynasties since at least the Shang dynasty (1766 BCE) until the modern period centered on the worship of Shangdi (literally "Above Sovereign", generally translated as "God") or Heaven as an omnipotent force. However, this faith system
3731-504: The New Kingdom period in ancient Egyptian history. They built an entirely new capital city ( Akhetaten ) for themselves and worshippers of their sole creator god in a wilderness. His father used to worship Aten alongside other gods of their polytheistic religion. Aten, for a long time before his father's time, was revered as a god among the many gods and goddesses in Egypt. Atenism was countermanded by later pharaoh Tutankhamun , as chronicled in
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3822-455: The Vedas as being specifically polytheistic, and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness." Sita Ram Goel , another 20th-century Hindu historian, wrote: I had an occasion to read the typescript of a book [Ram Swarup] had finished writing in 1973. It was a profound study of Monotheism, the central dogma of both Islam and Christianity, as well as
3913-581: The Yajurveda (TS 4.5, 4.7). Shri Rudram is also known as Sri Rudraprasna , Śatarudrīya , and Rudradhyaya . The text is important in Vedanta where Shiva is equated to the Universal supreme God. The hymn is an early example of enumerating the names of a deity , a tradition developed extensively in the sahasranama literature of Hinduism . The Nyaya school of Hinduism has made several arguments regarding
4004-418: The basimbi , bakisi and bakita. Oral tradition accounts that in the beginning, there was only a circular void ( mbûngi ) with no life. Nzambi Mpungu summoned a spark of fire ( Kalûnga ) that grew until it filled the mbûngi. When it grew too large, Kalûnga became a great force of energy and unleashed heated elements across space, forming the universe with the sun, stars, planets, etc. Because of this, Kalûnga
4095-534: The cosmos ; a self-regulating mechanism whereby the individual reaps the fruits of his own actions through the workings of the karmas. Through the ages, Jain philosophers have adamantly rejected and opposed the concept of creator and omnipotent God and this has resulted in Jainism being labeled as nāstika darsana or atheist philosophy by the rival religious philosophies . The theme of non-creationism and absence of omnipotent God and divine grace runs strongly in all
4186-533: The "waters below", and day three the sea from the land. In each of the next three days these divisions are populated: day four populates the darkness and light with sun, moon, and stars; day five populates seas and skies with fish and fowl; and finally, land-based creatures and mankind populate the land. The first (the Priestly story ) was concerned with the cosmic plan of creation, while the second (the Yahwist story ) focuses on man as cultivator of his environment and as
4277-640: The Aztec. As an old religion, Hinduism inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, polytheism , panentheism , pantheism , monism , and atheism among others; and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed. Hindu views are broad and range from monism, through pantheism and panentheism (alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars) to monotheism and even atheism. Hinduism cannot be said to be purely polytheistic. Hindu religious leaders have repeatedly stressed that while God's forms are many and
4368-596: The Christian faith, followed by the statement that God is the First Being, the First Mover, and is Pure Act. The deuterocanonical 2 Maccabees has two relevant passages. At chapter 7, it narrows about the mother of a Jewish proto-martyr telling to her son: "I beseech thee, my son, look upon heaven and earth, and all that is in them: and consider that God made them out of nothing, and mankind also"; at chapter 1, it refers
4459-460: The Egyptian pantheon. To emphasise the change, Aten's name was written in the cartouche form normally reserved for Pharaohs, an innovation of Atenism. This religious reformation appears to coincide with the proclamation of a Sed festival , a sort of royal jubilee intended to reinforce the Pharaoh's divine powers of kingship. Traditionally held in the thirtieth year of the Pharaoh's reign, this possibly
4550-621: The Hebrew Bible came from Philo of Alexandria (d. 50 CE), writing in the context of Hellenistic Judaism . Philo equated the Hebrew creator-deity Yahweh with Aristotle 's unmoved mover ( First Cause ) in an attempt to prove that the Jews had held monotheistic views even before the Greeks. A similar theoretical proposition was demonstrated by Thomas Aquinas , who linked Aristotelian philosophy with
4641-698: The Islamic teachings, God exists above the heavens and the creation itself. The Quran mentions, "He it is Who created for you all that is on earth. Then He Istawa (rose over) towards the heaven and made them seven heavens and He is the All-Knower of everything." At the same time, God is unlike anything in creation: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." and nobody can perceive God in totality: "Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He
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#17328513543064732-645: The Lakota was considered a "council of gods" in pre-columbian times, and their religion is not monotheistic. Some researchers have interpreted Aztec philosophy as fundamentally monotheistic or panentheistic. While the populace at large believed in a polytheistic pantheon, Aztec priests and nobles might have come to an interpretation of Teotl as a single universal force with many facets. There has been criticism to this idea, however, most notably that many assertions of this supposed monotheism might actually come from post-Conquistador bias, imposing an Antiquity pagan model onto
4823-428: The Pharaoh and his court from the influence of the priesthood and from the traditional centres of worship, but his decree had deeper religious significance too—taken in conjunction with his name change, it is possible that the move to Amarna was also meant as a signal of Akhenaten's symbolic death and rebirth. It may also have coincided with the death of his father and the end of the coregency. In addition to constructing
4914-543: The animals and plants but does not seem to have given any further instructions, nor did he return the fire to the survivors. Puluga created the entire riches of forests of Marakele (Andaman Islands). With the dwindled number of Andamanese tribals who now live in Strait Island, the reverence to Puluga seem to be forgotten. This article relating to anthropology is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Creator deity A creator deity or creator god
5005-545: The artifact, the Restoration Stela. Despite different views, Atenism is considered by some scholars to be one of the frontiers of monotheism in human history. The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity . The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis . In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word for God ) creates
5096-419: The beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos . However this chaos began to coalesce into a cosmic egg for eighteen thousand years. Within it, the perfectly opposed principles of yin and yang became balanced and Pangu emerged (or woke up) from the egg. Pangu is usually depicted as a primitive, hairy giant with horns on his head and clad in furs. Pangu set about the task of creating
5187-469: The belief in "One God for All" or Ik Onkar . In the Baháʼí Faith God is the imperishable, uncreated being who is the source of all existence. He is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient , omnipresent and almighty ". Although transcendent and inaccessible directly, his image is reflected in his creation. The purpose of creation
5278-403: The circle in half. The top half represents the physical world ( Ku Nseke or nsi a bamôyo ), while the bottom half represents the spiritual world of the ancestors ( Ku Mpèmba ). The Kalûnga line separates these two worlds, and all living things exists on one side or another. After creation, the line and the mbûngi circle became a river, carrying people between the worlds at birth and death. Then
5369-458: The constituents and actions are governed by universal natural laws . It is not possible to create matter out of nothing and hence the sum total of matter in the universe remains the same (similar to law of conservation of mass ). Similarly, the soul of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed since beginningless time. The Jain theory of causation holds that a cause and its effect are always identical in nature and therefore
5460-461: The creation narrative: Priestly and Jahwistic. The combined narrative is a critique of the Mesopotamian theology of creation: Genesis affirms monotheism and denies polytheism . Robert Alter described the combined narrative as "compelling in its archetypal character, its adaptation of myth to monotheistic ends". The Abrahamic creation narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to
5551-538: The demiurge represents the second cause or dyad , after the monad . In Gnostic dualism , the demiurge is an imperfect spirit and possibly an evil being, transcended by divine Fullness ( Pleroma ). Unlike the Abrahamic God, Plato's demiurge is unable to create ex-nihilo . Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism , polytheism , panentheism , pantheism , pandeism , monism , and atheism among others; and its concept of creator deity
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#17328513543065642-434: The diversity and complexity of the ancient sources, which include not only the biblical texts, but also other writings, inscriptions, and material remains that help reconstruct the ancient beliefs and practices of the people of Judah and Israel. The term "monotheism" is often contrasted with " polytheism ", but many scholars prefer other terms such as monolatry, henotheism, or one-god discourse. Quasi-monotheistic claims of
5733-438: The eminence of Aten as the renewal of the kingship of Ra. Under Akhenaten's successors, Egypt reverted to its traditional religion, and Akhenaten himself came to be reviled as a heretic. Some Egyptian ethical text authors believed in only a single god ruling over the universe. Native American religions may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or some combination thereof. Cherokee religion , for example,
5824-438: The event has been estimated to fall around January 2 of that year. In Year 7 of his reign (1346/1344 BCE), the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten (near modern Amarna), though construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years. In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centres Akhenaten was signalling a dramatic transformation in the focus of religious and political power. The move separated
5915-572: The existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age , with Akhenaten 's Great Hymn to the Aten from the 14th century BCE. In the Iron-Age South Asian Vedic period , a possible inclination towards monotheism emerged. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman , particularly in the comparatively late tenth book , which is dated to the early Iron Age , e.g. in
6006-481: The famous statement of the Bhagavatam" (1.3.28). A viewpoint differing from this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an avatar of Narayana or Vishnu . It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of the God of Vaishnavism , who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there
6097-591: The four most prominent beasts, namely the Turtle , the Qilin , the Phoenix , and the Dragon . After eighteen thousand years had elapsed, Pangu was laid to rest. His breath became the wind ; his voice the thunder ; left eye the sun and right eye the moon ; his body became the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers; his muscles the fertile lands; his facial hair
6188-498: The great happenings and processes of nature. The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony , many involving Brahma . These include Sarga (primary creation of universe) and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ( metaphysical ) and other secondary that is always changing ( empirical ), and that all observed reality of
6279-493: The heavens and the Earth, the animals, and mankind in six days, then rests on, blesses and sanctifies the seventh (i.e. the Biblical Sabbath ). In the second story, God, now referred to by the personal name Yahweh , creates Adam , the first man, from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden , where he is given dominion over the animals. Eve , the first woman, is created from Adam and as his companion. It expounds themes parallel to those in Mesopotamian mythology , emphasizing
6370-460: The latter is in an endless repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created. The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Devi among the terms used for the primary creator, while the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases
6461-459: The materials provided by Vishnu to actually create what are believed to be planets in Puranic terminology, and he supervises the population of them. Monism is the philosophy that asserts oneness as its fundamental premise, and it contradicts the dualism-based theistic premise that there is a creator God that is eternal and separate from the rest of existence. There are two types of monism, namely spiritual monism which holds that all spiritual reality
6552-404: The only one great God, Hayyi Rabbi, to whom all absolute properties belong; He created all the worlds, formed the soul through his power, and placed it by means of angels into the human body. So He created Adam and Eve , the first man and woman." Mandaeans recognize God to be the eternal, creator of all, the one and only in domination who has no partner. Monolatristic traditions would separate
6643-417: The philosophical dimensions of Jainism, including its cosmology , karma , moksa and its moral code of conduct. Jainism asserts a religious and virtuous life is possible without the idea of a creator god. In polytheistic creation, the world often comes into being organically, e.g. sprouting from a primal seed, sexually, by miraculous birth (sometimes by parthenogenesis ), by hieros gamos , violently, by
6734-475: The process repeats and a person is reborn. A simbi (pl. bisimbi) is a water spirit that is believed to inhabit bodies of water and rocks, having the ability to guide bakulu , or the ancestors, along the Kalûnga line to the spiritual world after death. They are also present during the baptisms of African American Christians , according to Hoodoo tradition . Pangu can be interpreted as another creator deity. In
6825-741: The rest of universe. In Shaivism , Shiva may be treated as the creator. In Shaktism , the Great Goddess creates the Trimurti. The Bakongo people traditionally believe in Nzambi Mpungu , the Creator God, whom the Portuguese compared to the Christian God during colonization. They also believe his female counterpart called Nzambici , the ancestors ( bakulu ) as well as guardian spirits, such as Lemba,
6916-531: The same as Narayana . As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan . When Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan , it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism , the Vallabha Sampradaya , and the Nimbarka Sampradaya , where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from
7007-512: The sixth century BCE, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the "Maker of All" and the first being before all others. The prophet Zoroaster is credited with the founding of the first monotheistic religion in history sometime as early as the middle of the second millennium BCE, leaving a lasting influence on other belief systems such as Second Temple Judaism and, through it, on later monotheistic religions. Scholars are conflicted whether Zoroastrianism
7098-416: The slaying of a primeval monster , or artificially, by a divine demiurge or "craftsman". Sometimes, a god is involved, wittingly or unwittingly, in bringing about creation. Examples include: Plato , in his dialogue Timaeus , describes a creation myth involving a being called the demiurge ( δημιουργός "craftsman"). Neoplatonism and Gnosticism continued and developed this concept. In Neoplatonism,
7189-470: The sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc, in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Akhenaten made it however clear that the image of the Aten only represented the god, but that the god transcended creation and so could not be fully understood or represented. Aten
7280-542: The stars and milky way; his fur the bushes and forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrows sacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became human beings all over the world. The first writer to record the myth of Pangu was Xu Zheng during the Three Kingdoms period. Shangdi is another creator deity, possibly prior to Pangu; sharing concepts similar to Abrahamic faiths. According to Kazakh folk tales, Jasagnan
7371-403: The two first chapters of the Book of Genesis . The first account (1:1 through 2:3) employs a repetitious structure of divine fiat and fulfillment, then the statement "And there was evening and there was morning, the [ x ] day," for each of the six days of creation. In each of the first three days there is an act of division: day one divides the darkness from light, day two the "waters above" from
7462-417: The universe, the concept of god(s) and The One, and whether even The One knows how the universe came into being. The Rig Veda praises various deities, none superior nor inferior, in a henotheistic manner. The hymns repeatedly refer to One Truth and Reality. The "One Truth" of Vedic literature, in modern era scholarship, has been interpreted as monotheism, monism, as well as a deified Hidden Principles behind
7553-462: The various superhuman faculties of assuming infinitesimal size, and so on, and capable of creating everything, then we reply that the law of parsimony bids us assume only one such, namely Him, the adorable Lord. There can be no confidence in a non-eternal and non-omniscient being, and hence it follows that according to the system which rejects God, the tradition of the Veda is simultaneously overthrown; there
7644-427: The ways to communicate with him are many, God is one. The puja of the murti is a way to communicate with the abstract one god ( Brahman ) which creates, sustains and dissolves creation. Rig Veda 1.164.46, Traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, the Nimbarka Sampradaya and followers of Swaminarayan and Vallabha consider Krishna to be the source of all avatars , and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be
7735-543: The world: he separated Yin from Yang with a swing of his giant axe, creating the Earth (murky Yin ) and the Sky (clear Yang ). To keep them separated, Pangu stood between them and pushed up the Sky. This task took eighteen thousand years, with each day the sky grew ten feet higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feet taller. In some versions of the story, Pangu is aided in this task by
7826-560: Was a festival in honour of Amenhotep III , who some Egyptologists think had a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV of two to twelve years. Year 5 is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV's construction of a new capital, Akhetaten ( Horizon of the Aten ), at the site known today as Amarna . Evidence of this appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of this new capital. At this time, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten ( Agreeable to Aten ) as evidence of his new worship. The date given for
7917-574: Was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten : "O Sole God beside whom there is none". The details of Atenist theology are still unclear. The exclusion of all but one god and the prohibition of idols was a radical departure from Egyptian tradition, but scholars see Akhenaten as a practitioner of monolatry rather than monotheism, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods; he simply refrained from worshiping any but Aten. Akhenaten associated Aten with Ra and put forward
8008-486: Was coined by Henry More (1614–1687). Monotheism is a complex and nuanced concept. The biblical authors had various ways of understanding God and the divine, shaped by their historical and cultural contexts. The notion of monotheism that is used today was developed much later, influenced by the Enlightenment and Christian views. Many definitions of monotheism are too modern, western, and Christian-centered to account for
8099-644: Was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." Christianity affirms the creation by God since its early time in the Apostles' Creed ("I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.", 1st century CE), that is symmetrical to the Nicene Creed (4th century CE). Nowadays, theologians debate whether the Bible itself teaches if this creation by God
8190-471: Was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshipped along with Shangdi . Still, later variants such as Mohism (470 BCE–c.391 BCE) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi , akin to the angels in Abrahamic religions which in turn counts as only one god. Since
8281-456: Was objected that Judaism , Christianity , and Islam had grown up in opposition to polytheism as had Greek philosophical monotheism. More recently, Karen Armstrong and other authors have returned to the idea of an evolutionary progression beginning with animism , which developed into polytheism , which developed into henotheism , which developed into monolatry , which developed into true monotheism. The Tikar people of Cameroon have
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