# I Pit people who misrepresent Christianity as polytheistic **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 17, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594 "2009-12-17T04:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/181 "2009-12-18T17:44:54Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > So a Kohen is a kind of Jewish religious leader and putting a big 'ol scratch on the nose is a ritualized rendering of the statue so as the de-idolize it? Ah, sorry about that. There are three kinds of families - Levis, from the old priestly caste, Kohens, and everyone else (like me.) In our Temple at least one from each class had to say a blessing over the Torah at Sabbath services. He, at least, took his heritage very seriously, so my point was that this wasn’t some random Jewish person considering that Mary could have been considered an idol, but someone who had studied quite a lot. It definitely was not clear. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/182 "2009-12-18T17:47:06Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > Nobody can be their own son, There once was a man named Oedipus Rex You might have heard about his odd complex His name appears in Freud’s index Because he loved his mother. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/183 "2009-12-18T17:52:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Creationists think evolution is nonsensical. The explanations offered don’t make sense to them. Yet, when they report this, they are told that arguments from incredulity are not valid. Creationists say it is “nonsensical”, others say it is merely complicated. The two concepts are the same thing, viewed from different angles. if you ask creationists to describe what evolution actually says, and get an answer before they disappear, you’ll find that their view of this is nonsensical - dogs giving birth to cats and the like, and slime to man in two steps. I trust our view of Christianity is a bit more accurate. I for one don’t claim that Christians are polytheists today. What I do claim is that the incoherence of the Trinity comes from cramming the drift of Jewish monotheism into polytheism influenced by the surrounding polytheistic culture back into monotheism without losing the important polytheistic son of God aspects. Saints aren’t gods, but they take the role that the Roman minor gods played. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/184 "2009-12-18T18:52:56Z")
Saints can answer prayers. That gives them godlike abilities. Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary for a purpose. She is supposed to be able to grant wishes. I find the trinity problem to be minor in regard to polytheism. Is is just another example. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/185 "2009-12-18T19:15:50Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Saints can answer prayers. That gives them godlike abilities. Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary for a purpose. She is supposed to be able to grant wishes. I find the trinity problem to be minor in regard to polytheism. Is is just another example. Okay, as an ex-Catholic, I need to clarify these. Saints, officially, don’t answer prayers. They _intercede_ with God to answer prayers. The thinking is, since they were holier than the average person in life, they have extra “pull” in Heaven. It’s the same with Mary, except she also has the Jewish Mother buff… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/186 "2009-12-18T19:24:55Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Okay, as an ex-Catholic, I need to clarify these. > > Saints, officially, don’t answer prayers. They _intercede_ with God to answer prayers. The thinking is, since they were holier than the average person in life, they have extra “pull” in Heaven. It’s the same with Mary, except she also has the Jewish Mother buff… 😃 Ok sure; but what about exorcisms? The catholic church still endorses those, AFAIK, and those demons/spirits/whatever are not interceding on the part of god, I would think. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/187 "2009-12-18T19:59:54Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Ok sure; but what about exorcisms? The catholic church still endorses those, AFAIK, and those demons/spirits/whatever are not interceding on the part of god, I would think. Yeah, I can’t explain those. But Catholics don’t pray to them, either. Hey, I already took the ferry out of Incenseland, so I won’t try to justify that sort of thing. Just trying to correct **gonzo** ’s “answer prayers” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/188 "2009-12-18T20:12:11Z")
(My emphasis added to both quotes: ) > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Who died and made you a **junior mod**? As a matter of fact, I do get to open a pit thread for people who are deliberately **being a jerk**. If you don’t like it, **you get to flap you gums, which you did**. But I think the behavior is **uncivilized** and I get to say so. **Nah, nah**. > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > No, you are a liar. God incarnated himself. If God wants to incarnate himself, that is up to him. If he wants to pray to himself, that is his business. **You** guys **are deliberately being** a bunch of **asshole** s. _ **Ahhhhh, the irony.** _ ---
**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 18, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/189 "2009-12-18T23:10:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > There once was a man named Oedipus Rex > You might have heard about his odd complex > His name appears in Freud’s index > Because he loved his mother. > > 😃 Don’t you think you should credit this Tomfoolery? ---
**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 18, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/190 "2009-12-18T23:14:53Z")
I’m still waiting to find out if polytheistic religions are automatically inferior to monotheism. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/191 "2009-12-19T00:07:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Don’t you think you should credit this Tomfoolery? This is the Dope. Everyone knows where it came from. I have more respect for Dopers than that! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/192 "2009-12-19T00:38:00Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m still waiting to find out if polytheistic religions are automatically inferior to monotheism. Duh. Everyone knows that monotheism is further up the tech tree than polytheism… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/193 "2009-12-19T00:40:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Duh. Everyone knows that monotheism is further up the tech tree than polytheism… A claim I actually do hear people make seriously; that monotheism is the inevitable, “more advanced” version of religion over “more primitive” polytheism. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/194 "2009-12-19T01:23:07Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > A claim I actually do hear people make seriously; that monotheism is the inevitable, “more advanced” version of religion over “more primitive” polytheism. Well, it is only one god away from atheism. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/195 "2009-12-19T01:44:29Z")
I try to get to Monotheism as fast as possible, but I don’t even bother with Divine Right. Who needs Versailles when I can just switch to Communism? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/196 "2009-12-19T02:15:49Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Well, it is only one god away from atheism. 🙂 Ha! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/197 "2009-12-19T02:49:20Z")
> [@ntucker](#): > > It’s amazing that the person who said, “It has nothing to do with logic, it is a religion. If you think you know of a logical religion, that itself is illogical” could possibly fail to grasp this point. Religious scholars dance around trying to conjure up what appears to a logical defense of their religions. I agree that the premise that there is a god that communicates with the people on this rock is silly. But churches are businesses competing for membership. They need to attract new church goers. They have to craft a palatable scenario. They can’t, but they come close enough to sucker heavily programmed people into donating their money to them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/198 "2009-12-19T04:06:46Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I try to get to Monotheism as fast as possible, but I don’t even bother with Divine Right. Who needs Versailles when I can just switch to Communism? I try for Republic, myself. And what’s the deal with the Statue of Liberty? That makes no sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/199 "2009-12-19T05:42:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Nevertheless, there is _some_ element of science to it, if one considers human psychology to be science. The law has to conform more-or-less with what most citizens consider to be just and appropriate or it becomes useless. But if someone claims Christianity is monotheistic and someone else calls it polytheistic, what objective standard, if any, can be brought in to resolve this? Well if science, particularly human pschology has anything to say about the three person/one God being one God, it should be stated that such a thing as three personalities in one person has now been recognized by the science since 1980. Its call Dissociative Identity Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594/200 "2009-12-19T07:42:50Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > A claim I actually do hear people make seriously; that monotheism is the inevitable, “more advanced” version of religion over “more primitive” polytheism. I always wondered what “Future Tech” consisted of. > [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Well, it is only one god away from atheism. 🙂 That was actually funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-misrepresent-christianity-as-polytheistic/521594.md?page=11)