# Do all monotheistic religions worship the same God? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 6, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169 "2010-12-06T18:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/61 "2010-12-07T03:45:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I can understand this “all roads lead to God” philosophy-it absolves one from both feeling doubt about the path taken, and feeling pressure about “saving” others. Think of it as “My religion has value to me. I imagine other people’s religion has value to them.” Religion doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. I think that all but the most fundamentalist of believers acknowledges that they do not have a perfect understanding of the divine, but are instead working towards it in the best way that they know how. It’s like love. Someone may love their spouse immensely. This doesn’t mean they think they have a perfect marriage, or they never have times of crisis and doubt. They probably on some level recognize that they could have married someone else and probably had a satisfactory marriage. I think most people realize that there are not pre-destined soul mates, but that after enough time two people can grow together to the point that they end up functioning like soul mates. This also doesn’t mean they think they have a perfect understanding of love. If they had to judge another’s relationship, they may or may not feel confident saying "Yes, that couple is in love’ or “no they are not.” Perhaps they can tell the obviously abusive relationship is not real love, but aren’t willing to make a judgement about the couple that might just fight because they are overworked. They just know that they know what works for them. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/62 "2010-12-07T03:56:39Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > This is just the same as how many Christian denominations consider other denominations (such as Mormonism) flat-out wrong, but still consider Judaism a close relative. > > And Muslims do a similar thing with say the Shia and Ahmedi denominations. \ I don’t think I’ve put this very well and Mormonism wasn’t a good example to use. Hope my point wasn’t lost amidst this. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/63 "2010-12-07T04:18:18Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I was raised Conservative, and I’ll have to consult my Siddur, but I don’t recall any mention of “sons of God” as an honorific or anything else. Children of Israel, or Israel, or descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yes. Back then my Hebrew was good enough that I would have noticed such a blatant difference between the Hebrew and English. Anyhow, the context makes it clear that they were not human. > > Not that it would have been a major theological problem. If God could make people, God could create sons also, and no mention of Mrs. God survives in the Bible itself. “Son of God” is used in the Hebrew Bible as an honorific for kings of Israel (it’s used for David and the Davidic line in particular). It’s is also used a few times to refer to Israel as a whole. In reference to the Nephilim passage, it’s an artificact of a earlier polytheistic origin, whence the “Sons of El” represented deities subordinate to the “Father” god in the Canaanite pantheon, but 2nd Temple era Jewish texts interpret the Nephilim passage as referring to angels and sometimes change the phrase to “sons of Heaven.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/64 "2010-12-07T04:23:14Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > Has any connection been established between Ahuramazda and YHWH? I was under the impression that early Judaism and Zoroastrianism developed independently. Judaism was greatly influenced by Persian Zoroastrianism after the exile. Zoriastrianism changed Judaism from a henotheistic religion to a monotheistic one, and also gave Judaism it’s eschaton (The concept of an end to the world and a day of Judgement). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/65 "2010-12-07T04:29:28Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Well here’s the problem, while people with Abrahmic beliefs all believe in a God derived from the God of the Hebrews, religions such as Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and et. al all deny a significant part of God ie the Trinity or that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, without which God is not really the same God. I think it’s more accurate to say that Christianity _added_ an element. It’s kind of tendentious to say that other religions are “denying a part of God,” when Christians made that part up themselves, and it isn’t really 100% consonant with normal montheism, truth be known. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/66 "2010-12-07T04:37:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There are roads that lead to Paris, roads that lead to Pittsburgh, roads that lead to Portland and roads that lead to Port-au-Prince. Now, while all these roads may lead to something called a “city”, in no way do all these roads lead to the _same_ city with different names. I call bulldust on this, I think they all do lead to something, some a re bit lost due to them idolising an individual. Do you think that Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, JFK, Desmond Tutu etc are not all very much in touch with “god”? No one can say their way is the only way, even me. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I can understand this “all roads lead to God” philosophy-it absolves one from both feeling doubt about the path taken, and feeling pressure about “saving” others. Play the ball not the man. I feel that it is my duty to spread light and love throughout my life. I am not trying to make you anything you are not. Saving people from self loathing is what I do through example. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > But this is assuming that _all_ the books lead to God, isn’t it? Are you prepared for the possibility that some of the books might not lead to God at all? If so, then you must consider the possibility that your own personal book might be one of those. The book is not the point, it is meant as a guide. All men & women will read something different into it. The search for spiritual fullfilment will always be about what’s true in your heart not about words on a page. You can read about God in any book, if your heart is open. > [@Bullet fired from spaceship/speed of light](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-fired-from-spaceship-speed-of-light/562826/4): > > Man did not invent Time, he merely named it. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/67 "2010-12-07T11:18:27Z")
I would like to put into consideration Cao Dai. It’s a lovely Vietnamese religion. > **[Caodaism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Dai)** > > Caodaism (/ˌkaʊdaɪzm/, Vietnamese: Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: 道高臺) is a monotheistic syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as ancestor worship,\[citation needed\] as well as "ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, and a hierarchical organization from Roman Catholicism". It was officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. > The full name of the religion is Đại... It is in no way, shape, or form related to the Abrahamistic religions, though. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/68 "2010-12-07T14:35:14Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > I would like to put into consideration Cao Dai. It’s a lovely Vietnamese religion. > [Caodaism - Wikipedia](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Cao_Dai) > It is in no way, shape, or form related to the Abrahamistic religions, though. Are you sure about that? It seems to have some Western influences. e.g. at the Wikipedia page I see: one of the Venerated entities is Jesus Christ, along with other people like Quan Âm (Guan Yin), Lão Tử (Laozi), Thích-ca Mâu-ni (Buddha), Khổng Tử (Confucius), Quan Vũ (Guan Yu, Lý Thái Bạch (Li Po), and Khương Thái Công (Jiang Ziya). In a painting depicting the Three Saints signing a covenant between God and humanity, we see Victor Hugo along with Sun Yat-sen and Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm. Of course, from what it says about their theology, it is very different from Christianity, e.g. There are 36 levels of heaven and 72 planets harboring intelligent life, with number one being the closest to heaven and 72 nearest to Hell (Earth is number 68). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/69 "2010-12-07T15:44:06Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > You can read about God in any book, if your heart is open. Might I suggest you read Harlan Ellison’s _Deathbird Stories_, then, and let me know what insights about God you got from it. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/70 "2010-12-07T17:31:02Z")
Well, it has _influences_ from western religions, Arnold, but it’s not related to them. For a crude analogy, Jesus is maybe a neighbor who throws house parties, but he’s not an uncle, aunt, or grandparent, or even a godfather. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/71 "2010-12-07T18:09:25Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > I’m not knowledgeable enough about Hinduism to speak to that question, but something tells me that it won’t stand up to a strict interpretation of monotheism, probably being closer to Shangdi in practice. It’s not the same thing. Hindus (largely) consider the Hindu pantheon to be different facets of the same entity. In other words, “God” is broken down into mini-gods for _our_ convenience, not because that’s how things actually are. For example, Ganesh is the “remover of obstacles”. If you want to be a pilot, but you’re blind, you pray to Ganesh to remove your blindness. However, you’re not actually praying to Ganesh; you’re asking God/the Trimurti/Brahman to put on his obstacle-removing hat. My understanding of Shangdi is that worshippers prayed to the lower gods to intercede with God on their behalf. Similar to the way Catholics pray to saints to intercede with God on their behalf. There are some sects which hold that the lower gods are discrete entities, but that’s not the majority view. > [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve been told by devout Hindus that they worship the same god as westerners. I think the motivation for this statement is clear and commendable - if my group actually worships the same god as your group, there is no need to fight about it. That’s pretty much how it works. Hindus believe that all religions are reflections of the same basic truths- and that all G/gods are manifestations of the same being. So Christians who pray to Jesus are doing the same thing as Hindus praying to Ganesh- praying to a manifestation of the supreme being as they interpret him. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/72 "2010-12-07T20:28:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s not the same thing. Hindus (largely) consider the Hindu pantheon to be different facets of the same entity. In other words, “God” is broken down into mini-gods for _our_ convenience, not because that’s how things actually are. > > For example, Ganesh is the “remover of obstacles”. If you want to be a pilot, but you’re blind, you pray to Ganesh to remove your blindness. However, you’re not actually praying to Ganesh; you’re asking God/the Trimurti/Brahman to put on his obstacle-removing hat. > > My understanding of Shangdi is that worshippers prayed to the lower gods to intercede with God on their behalf. Similar to the way Catholics pray to saints to intercede with God on their behalf. > > There are some sects which hold that the lower gods are discrete entities, but that’s not the majority view. snip. Additional question: If that is the case, then is the term god/dess the properly translated title for these facets or is the term untranslatable to English? I’m confused by the habit of local Hindus I know that use the term “god/ dess” in regards to these entities. They seem to convey more that these are discrete entities that exist independently while still being part of the whole. Similar to the Christian trinity. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/73 "2010-12-07T20:56:27Z")
People still act as though they’re separate entities most of the time; it’s a philosophical distinction, rather than a practical one. That said, the facets are _devas_- quite literally, gods. The Supreme Being deal has a number of different names depending on what period of history you look at, but translates most simply into English as capital-G God. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/74 "2010-12-07T22:41:58Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Someone may love their spouse immensely. This doesn’t mean they think they have a perfect marriage, or they never have times of crisis and doubt. They probably on some level recognize that they could have married someone else and probably had a satisfactory marriage. > > They just know that they know what works for them. I think this is a really insightful post, especially the parts I’ve quoted. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/75 "2010-12-07T23:56:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Might I suggest you read Harlan Ellison’s _Deathbird Stories_, then, and let me know what insights about God you got from it. Well it is about the battles that exist between what god is really about and mankinds’ desire to chase the shiny new things. It is in some senses a moral play about pain and suffering. I think that the first book looked at evil as coming from satan. Now we all know that satan is a metphor for the black that exists within all of us when we stray from selfless love [or god]. The golden rule and all that stuff. read it many many years ago so may be a bit rusty. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/76 "2010-12-08T00:04:03Z")
Is Zoroastrianism really monotheistic, though? I had understood that Zoroastrianism recognizes two divine beings, roughly equal in power, one of whom is good and one of whom is evil. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/77 "2010-12-08T00:55:46Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Well it is about the battles that exist between what god is really about and mankinds’ desire to chase the shiny new things. It is in some senses a moral play about pain and suffering. No, it isn’t. > [@sisu](#): > > I think that the first book looked at evil as coming from satan. No, it didn’t. > [@sisu](#): > > Now we all know that satan is a metphor for the black that exists within all of us when we stray from selfless love [or god]. No, we all don’t. > [@sisu](#): > > The golden rule and all that stuff. Too vague to counter. > [@sisu](#): > > Read it many many years ago so may be a bit rusty. Like a Brillo pad at the bottom of the sea. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/78 "2010-12-08T01:20:15Z")
OK so a man goes with the snake [representing our fall] to see God to ask him to save the world. A good story that in some ways shows that [evil] satan is a part of who we are as humans. What happens when we no longer believe? Do the gods go away? In some ways this reflects the argument about what is the true god, is the Mormon god the same as the Christian god? well I say yes. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/79 "2010-12-08T01:53:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is Zoroastrianism really monotheistic, though? I had understood that Zoroastrianism recognizes two divine beings, roughly equal in power, one of whom is good and one of whom is evil. Modern Zoroastrianism identifies as purely monotheistic, with only one creator God. It’s fair to say it was more akin to a dualistic view in ancient times, but Ahura Mazda was still the only object of worship. He was opposed by an evil anti-God (Ahriman), but Ahriman was not on object of worship, but as a _daeva_ - a devil, who was scheduled to be destroyed on the Day of Judgement. He’s basically analogous to Satan in Christian theology. I suppose it’s debatable whether this would have made ancient Zoroastianism truly monotheistic, but the same can be said about Christianity (not only with Satan, but with its pantheon of angels and demons). The whole idea of a comsic battle between good and evil forces, culminating in a final battle/day of judgement/end of the world, all comes from Zoroastrianism. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169/80 "2010-12-08T02:00:45Z")
Also, Freddie Mercury. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-monotheistic-religions-worship-the-same-god/563169.md?page=5)