The Unifying Factor. Monotheism.

[IC]

The Unifying Principle. Monotheism.

Monotheism is the belief in One Supreme Being, known to the Egyptians from whence we derive our belief in all things.

One God, Creator and God Redeemer, Maker of all things.

PTAH in Latin Pater meaning Father

Not a priest, GOD.

I have never seen a priest create a universe, have you?

What do you consider the importance to mankind of believing in One Supreme Being?

Remembering that:

"Thou shalt have NO other gods before me."

You should read the rest of Exodus Chapter 20 before replying.

[osprey4]

Just believing in monotheism is not the same as saying all monotheists believe the same thing.

Edit: Hey, no fair, you edited while I was posting But I have read Exodus 20.

[J-Excel]

Since when were the ancient Egyptians monotheistic?

[nomaxim]

There was one Pharoh that declarced monotheism 1500-1750 BC or thereabouts. Cannot remember his name right now (Amonthop or something like that). All his temples and such were destroyed after his death, and all records purged. You may have heard of his wife, Neferti or Nefertiti.

Edit; Sorry had to look this up.
PTAH (creator of the universe) was an Egyptian god.

[Theophylact]

Why do monotheists seem to think it's self-evident that monotheism is an advance over polytheism?

Nothing really important is self-evident. If it were, you wouldn't need prophets (or scientists, for that matter).

Make the case; don't just assert the conclusion.

[J-Excel]

I found this.. "An abarrent attempt at strict Monotheism was represented by the Pharoah Akenaten's attempt to institure a worship of the sun disc (Atenism) and oppression of all other religions. This did not catch on."

[IC]

Ptah Creator of The Universe is THE GOD, not ... an ... egyptian god.

The Egyptians only had one God the rest were Pharaohs or deities.

Many aspects of creation were deified as sacred aspects of religious belief.

The God Creator Ptah, Pater, Father is the SAME God Creator as we believe in.

(Akhenaten)

The destruction was caused by jealous priests and others who wanted to be thought of as "gods" in God's place.

[IC]

Forgive me for saying so ... but ...

None of you are addressing the principle question. Can you see any advantage in monotheism as regards the survival of mankind?

An end to sectarianism and racism for example. Would we all be able to work together in a better way ensuring this survival?

Would Monotheism produce a fairer and more carefully regulated system overall?

[J-Excel]

Here's my theory of where curerent monotheism was derived. The god of the three near-Eastern religions is the God of Abraham. Apparantly each head of each major family in early Canaan had their own family god or gods, including Abraham. The nation of Isreal (Isreal was Jacob, Abraham's grandson I believe) maintained this god throughout their slavery in Egypt. During the Exodus Moses instilled in the Isrealites their family heritage, including the God of Abraham. Not wanting the Isrealites to be assimilated into the Canaan religions (Baal etc) Moses stated through the Ten Commandments that the God of Abraham was to be their only god.

[J-Excel]

Originally posted by IC
Would Monotheism produce a fairer and more carefully regulated system overall?

I would say, no. If the majority of the world were Polytheistic I believe the world would be more tollerant of other variants of a religion. Look at the conflict today between religions that share the same god.