Is Christianity mono or polytheistic?

Yes, it is a common thread. Father, son and holy ghost are 3 in 1. All are 1 God. The God of abraham.

 

it depends on which christian sect, Roman catholics will never admit it but as they practice it it's polytheistic...when the church established itself in the Roman Empire it converted the Roman and Greek gods into christian saints...so just like the Romans and Greeks they have their "big god and a bunch of little helper gods(saints) they pray to for protection and aid...just as the Romans had a gods of the sea, and wine and travel etc. the Roman Catholics now have saints that look after the same concerns...

 

It's polytheistic. God, Jesus, the holy ghost, Satan, creepy angels, demons, zombies, the beast, false prophet, goats, sheep.

 

Abraham's God demanded human sacrifice. Moses' God liked animal sacrifices. Jesus' God likes self mutilation, human sacrifice and cannibalism.

 

A Christian Tenant is believing in the Trinity. I don't know what you mean by "forms" of Christianity. There are religions that aren't Christian because the core tenents are not Christian. Mormanism, Islam, Judiaism, Unitarians, Jehovah Witnesses...

 

"Monotheism" means there is only one God.

In Christianity, there is only one God. Jesus is the son of God. The Holy Ghost is the spirit of God. Satan is a fallen angel. Angels are angels. The beast is Satan. False prophets are false prophets. Goats and sheep are animals.

I hope this helps.

 

Right, because saying "us" and "our" and differentiating between the will of Jesus and the Father don't indicate separate entities or anything.

 

Most of Genesis was adopted from the Sumerian creation stories.

The story of Moses is also borrowed from the Mesopotamian folklore, in particular the story of Sargon of Akkad. Sargon was one of the greatest rulers in history. He united (or conquered) the city states of Mesopotamia and formed the worlds first empire. Moses is said to have done the same by forming an Israelite empire.

Like Moses, Sargon came from humble origins.

Like Moses, Sargon existence was in jeopardy. HIs mother puts him in a basket and floats him down the river. This is the Moses story almost verbatim.

Like Moses, Sargon gains favor of a God who saves him and his followers.

In awe of the power of his God, the Princes submit to Sargon. In the case of Moses they also submit by letting Moses go.



http://www.publicbookshelf.com/publ..._Worlds_Famous_Events_Vol_1/biography_hg.html

 

That the elect do not have any answers is the real mystery. The can not explain how it is that Jesus is God so they appeal to faith.

"I know our story does not make any sense, and yes Jesus always claims that God in someone other than himself in the synoptic Gospels and neither the disciples nor the early Church fathers believed that Jesus was equal to God .... but never mind all this , just take it as a mystery and just have faith"

 

What are the core tenants that exclude mormons and jehova's?

 

What I mean by different forms of Christianity is that not all Christians belong to the same branch of Christianity. There are Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants, Episcopalians, Mormons, 7Th Day Adventist... so on and so forth. Obviously these different branches have some differences in beliefs. If all Christians believed the same thing there would be only one Church that represents all 2.2 Billion Christians of the world. Your listing of Mormonism with Islam shows that you believe that Mormons are not Christians. Which I would disagree with as they belief in the divinity of Christ and that one can only get to God through Christ. Sounds very Christian to me.

 

Yep. Of course, admittedly we all tend to believe things without fully understanding them. I believe in evolution, for instance, even if I don't understand everything about it. I believe in gravity, whatever it is... Curved space-time? OK, whatever. I don't much understand it, but I believe in it

But when it comes to these religious claims, they are neither tangible nor objectively demonstrated and proven, and I think that combined with the fundamental absurdity and improbability of the claims makes them ultimately objectionable. In the case of the triune god, I just see a hodgepodge of ideas being brought together and made to fit through a lot of mental exercise. People can argue that black is white, but that doesn't mean we have to accept it Logic can be misapplied..

 

The Trinity is a basic foundation of Christianity. Mormans don't believe in the Trinity---and venture off on many other things as well. Catholics and Baptists do believe in Trinity. The major tenants need to be there to say this is a "Christian denomination". The Amish, Catholics and Baptists are Christian denominations but very different in traditions and focus. Christianity is certainly not cookie cutter.
Christianity was established 2000 years ago with the foundation of Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. You can't take those truths out and call the resulting faith Christian.

 

Yah and 2000 years ago Christianity did not believe in the Trinity.

 

The idea that Satan has god-like powers seems to lean to the idea that it is more polytheistic than people really like to believe.

 

Even the Bible says that Satan is the God of this world. And all of those entities have eternal life, which is a characteristic of gods. They are vital to the big God's existence for without them he wouldn't have any rivals. He would have an empty existence.

I hope this helps.

 

The Israelites never had an empire. They were always someone's flunkies.

 

I don't know any Christians who don't think Jesus is god or a god. It's actually the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not, God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Well now you do know one. I am a Christian and I do not believe Jesus was God. He was the son of God. Jesus said so himself.

 

Satan is a fallen angel. He is not God. God is God.

Because beings have eternal life, it does not mean they are God. It means they have eternal life. In Christianity, we all have eternal life. We all go to heaven or hell or wherever. That does not mean you and I are Gods. (Though I'm pretty darn close, haha!)

 

What you call god was a group pof aliens who came to earth for gold, and created humans as a slave race to mine it by splicing their own DNA into that of Neanderthals.

 

Sure but, if you are making up a story to glorify the past of your people and how you once were great because a God favored you. Sargon's story is an excellent one to plagiarise.

 

It is understandable that the raging masses do not know the core foundation of their religious belief. The foundation statement on the Trinity is the Nicene Creed which states that Jesus is God.

 

http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/said_god.htm
John 14:7-10 [7] If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." [8] Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." [9] Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."

 

If you read the whole passage (John 14) . It is clear that Jesus is not claiming to be the Father.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14&version=KNOX

The end of the passage, John 14 clarifies this:

Jesus is clarifying that when he is speaking, they should take his words as the word of God because he is speaking what God has commanded him to speak.

Jesus is not claiming to be God. In fact he makes claims to the contrary. "The Father is greater than I ... Jesus acts as he is commanded"

The early Church fathers did not believe that Jesus was God. They were subordinatists , believing that Jesus was subordinate to the father. Not equal to the father as is claimed by modern Church doctrine.