God Against the Gods


The History of the War between Monotheism and Polytheism
I've been re-reading Jonathan Kirsch's excellent God Against the Gods and a few things keep popping into my mind.

First, the whole idea that there HAS to be a war between belief systems grows directly from the assumption that someone exclusive access to the one and only truth and has a Divine sanction to force that truth on everyone else.

Second is the reminder that the early Christians in Nero's Rome were not persecuted for their faith, but rather their intolerance of other faiths and their failure to acknowledge the state religions. If ever there was an overwhelming historical argument against mixing church and state, that is it. And ironically, it dates from the earliest days of Christianity as an organized faith

Third is the point that while polytheists tend to accept monotheists, the more fanatic monotheists will never accept polytheists as long as there is the slightest chance the polytheists can be destroyed. And of course that intolerance extends to other monotheists who do not follow the "true way."

All in all, a great book, especially in it's portrayal of Julian, one of my personal heros.

To me, it's fascinating how Julian is usually portrayed, even though he exemplifies a devout believer. He was raised in a faith which he couldn't accept, he sought out and mastered the "true faith," and then championed his beliefs in war and statecraft. When he became Emperor, he didn't destroy the Christians, he just reduced Christianity to what it had been during Constantine's reign, one faith among many. If Julian had been raised as a pagan and championed Christianity in a similar way, he would be called a saint today.

God Against the Gods doesn't really have an agenda, unless it is undemonizing the polytheists of the ancient and classical ages. When we in the U.S. are facing fanatic monotheists domestically and internationally, this book helps put everything in perspective.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sat - July 9, 2005 at 06:04 PM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved