Theological Word Of The Day: Henotheism

TWOTD ^ | October 16, 2008

[Gamecock]

Henotheism

Gk. heis “one” + theos “god”

Coined by Max Müller, henotheism is the belief in one primary god while also believing in the existence or possible existence of other gods. Normally the henotheist will have primary devotion for the ultimate deity, while leaving room for secondary allegiance to the lesser gods. It would seem that he Israelites, during the post Davidic kingdom years, were henotheists in belief and practice as they had Yahweh as their primary God, but also followed after lesser deities.

also: inclusive monotheism and monarchical polytheism

[Gamecock]

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[ovrtaxt]

Seems that if YHWH isn’t God, but just a god (even if he’s the main god), he isn’t a god worthy of my worship. Who wants to worship a god? I can approach that status closely enough myself- at least in my own mind.

No thanks, I’ll choose to worship God.

[EarthBound]

Yup, in the Israelites day, each city apparently had its own patron diety. It was commonplace for them to hold the Lord as their primary god, but still leave places of worship and offerings to other gods, especially Marduk, Molech, and Asherah.

God hated it, and the kings of Israel / Judah went back and forth between destroying these alters and setting them up. The Commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" is not a nebulous concept. The Lord knew that worshipping the other false deities lead to syncretism, where the devotees would worship others as equal to the Lord. This in turn led to Israelites bringing in outside cultures and incorporating their beliefs. Another thing the Lord detested.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Maybe something was lost in the translation.

“God” by definition, is a superlative, or at least has superlative attributes. It's like saying “supreme.”

To say that there is a “supreme” with other lesser “supremes” contradicts the term. The lesser “supremes” are not “supreme,” but better than those that are below them.

[Gamecock]

Sounds like the Mormons.

[raynearhood]

Goodness, I love TWOTD! Now I know what word to use when ribbing my wife. "Hon, you need to become a henotheist and start worshipping the ground I walk on!"

The way I figure, she should view me as on par with Thor, or some similar lesser god.

What I need to know from TWOTD is what word to use to describe her current view that I am the lesser of two evils.

[GOPPachyderm]

...so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:5-7

[Quix]

One I hadn’t seen. Thx.

[irishtenor]

She said, “Are you Thor?”
He said, “Yeth, but that’ths because I exthercithed.”

[Philo-Junius]

"Maybe something was lost in the translation. 'God' by definition, is a superlative, or at least has superlative attributes. It's like saying 'supreme.'"

Actually, it's more a case of our understanding of "God" becoming more refined over time by contemplation and additional revelation. In semitic languages divinity is linked with the strength and the ability to terrify; the notion of A god as the ground of being was only gradually understood and appreciated over time.

[TrevorSnowsrap]

“Coined by Max Müller, henotheism is...”

Müller’s original text can be downloaded here:

http://www.archive.org/details/lecturesonthegro00mulluoft

Lectures on the origin and growth of religion as illustrated by the religions of India (1878)

Author: Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max), 1823-1900

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

There can only be one creator, which is the notion of God in Genesis, which is the underpinning of Judaism. It is silly to think that the created can be on a par with the creator.

Religions that have competing gods or gods that are co-equal or philosophies that try to re-define the idea of the Creator as having colleagues, are flawed, in my monotheistic view, and in the monotheistic view Judeo-Christianity.

[Salvation]

HENOTHEISM

Worship of one god in preference to others, while not denying a plurality of gods. In practice it means that one god is worshipped by an individual clan or nation to the exclusion of other deities belonging to other peoples. It is a form of polytheism in that even this one preferred deity is not recognized as the only true God.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

[Philo-Junius]

Yes, but Genesis was attributed to Moses at the earliest, remember, which means that even most Hebrews prior to him may have been unclear on the theological details of the relationship between their tribal God and all the other gods around them.