'We need to talk, not fight.' Photo: Will Powell / flickr CC.
Only One God?
John Peirce explores the implications of monotheism
‘RAF bombs can only alienate opinion and postpone reconciliation and peace,’ says Tommy Gee in his article ‘Forgiveness and reconciliation’ (8 January). I could sit in silence with that profound phrase for a long time – just letting its implications sink into my very soul.
The many wars we have witnessed and lived through during this and the previous century should demonstrate to us the cost of conflict, chiefly the loss and ruination of millions of lives, but also the damage done to the environment (both natural and built) and to world economies. So much has been lost through war, and this just at a time when we have before us the possibilities of a richer, fuller life than ever before: we have more advanced skills, scientific and technical potential and health and educational opportunities – yet we risk all in the cataclysms of war. A disease of similar proportions would inspire every effort to find a cure to rid ourselves of it.
Michael Wright in a ‘Thought for the Week’ earlier this year (15 January) makes a complementary point, showing how the present ‘Islamist conflict’ now reflects the Christian conflicts of past centuries. If only theists could stand back from their differences and ask themselves: ‘Is this really what the God we serve requires of us?’ – ‘Would God, however we know him or her, want us to commit such atrocities?’ And all in the name of God!
The Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – and their varied sects – each profess to believe in ‘One God’ as their foundational creed. If we do believe in One God, we presumably believe that there are no other Gods – implying that we all believe in the same God as the others in this family of religions. Yet we behave as if we think our God is different from and better than the other Gods. If there is only One God, then we must all share a belief in and worship that same God, albeit in our different ways. Our faiths should be complementary, not in opposition. It behoves us, therefore, to discover what we can learn from one another if we want to have a fuller, truer understanding of this One God.
We have a long way to go along this path of mutual learning and trust! We find it hard enough between the sects of our own religions. Every high street in our land demonstrates the differences between Christian denominations. To these are added synagogues and mosques, demonstrating our further unhappy divisions – or might they become local growth points of mutual respect, understanding and growth?
From the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church: ‘Henotheism… a primitive form of faith, which as distinct from monotheism (belief in the existence of a single god)… recognises the existence of several gods but regards one… as the deity of the tribe, makes him the centre of its worship and… neglects… the existence of others.’
We need to talk, not fight.
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