Polytheism and Monotheism Christianity and

Polytheism and Monotheism Christianity and the Decline of Polytheism Years ago, A.D. Nock wrote in his important book on conversion in the Greco-Roman world, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: the death of Socrates created the type of wisdom and virtue standing in heroic opposition to a world which can kill but which does not have the last word" (Nock 194). This statement illustrates the persuasive power of the image of sacrificial death for a cause. The Romans were tolerant polytheists.

Yet they looked at Christianity with suspicion due to its refusal to make oaths and sacrifices to the emperor cult. This disrupted traditional pagan religion. The new emphasis on dedication to one God alone was subversive. The main argument of this paper is that the willingness of Christians to face martyrdom was a powerful symbol to polytheists of the monotheistic concept.

It was the practical model of sacrifice that, when combined with other factors such as moral change, new social associations, and the ability to escape fate through belief in a single God, made monotheism appealing. Martyrdom was not the only factor, but this paper will show how the dynamics of challenging Roman "idolatry" through suffering created the conditions for the demise of paganism and the rise of Christian monotheism. Polytheism was the thriving form of religion prior to Christian monotheism.

In his exhaustive study of ancient Greek religion, Burkert shows the structure of polytheistic belief. He defines polytheism to mean that "many gods are worshipped not only at the same place and at the same time, but by the same community and by the same individual; only the totality of the gods constitutes the divine world" (Burkert 216). This belief in multiple divinities shows how without contradiction the Greek mind was able to conceive of supernatural power as multiple.

They did not feel mental tension when faced with the thought of many gods. This polytheism expressed itself in various ways. For example, Burkert says that "at festivals of the gods, sacrifice is regularly made not to one god but to a whole series of gods" (Burkert 216). In addition, a sacred place usually belonged to one individual god, but statues of other gods could be erected in it as well and prayer was offered to many gods. People used magic, initiation, and purification ceremonies to different gods.

There were families of gods and god pairs (e.g., Zeus-Hera). The gods interact and associate, each with special realms and powers. The various gods gave name to the calendar months based on major festivals. Burkert explicitly emphasizes these festivals as organizing the religious and communal life of ancient Greeks. Roman religion during the formation of Christianity continued the pagan polytheistic tradition. Roman civilization had its temples to various gods with images of god and rituals. North writes, "Rituals marked all public events and celebrations" (North 44).

People endowed nature (water, trees, etc.) with divine forces and lower gods. Mattingly says, "There are the Fortunes, Tuxai, Genii, of persons and places. There are the spirits of human emotions and aspirations -- Felicitas, Pax, Salus, Spes and the rest" (Mattingly 19). The world was pierced with divine animistic presence. The power of the gods was respected for their influence in daily life, for agricultural concerns or personal safety and healing. Humans gave offerings and votive dedications to show their piety and invoked the gods in crisis.

Rives says, "In all this we see a general acknowledgement of the god's power, and a desire to win the god's favor so that people might benefit from that power" (Rives 97). They believed the gods could manifest themselves, as seen in Aristides and Asclepius. Another important aspect of polytheistic worship was honoring dead ancestors through household shrines and rituals. However, the concern in paganism was not focused on death and immortality. Rather it focused on the present life.

In addition to this, there were voluntary associations such as mystery cults where people shared religious rituals more personally and gained a sense of group identity through rites, deity worship, communal dinners, and sacrifices. In all this there is a clear polytheism still prevalent. The Romans, like the Greeks before them, did not experience any discomfort with the idea of multiple gods. Mattingly sees this as an inclusive type of belief: "Paganism was inclined to be tolerant because it was essentially inclusive" (Mattingly 22).

This form was destined to decline under the influence of monotheism. Science may have played some part in critiquing polytheism and lending support for Christian monotheism, but it does not seem too important. For one thing, studies of the universe were an attempt to find some means of human escape from Fate. Dampier writes, "As a means of escape from Fate, men looked first to the heavens themselves, where incalculable bodies like comets suggested room for freedom" (Dampier 38). The more typical method was using religion, especially the mystery religions.

These gave men hope, Dampier says, of controlling nature, the gods, and the stars -- whether magically, through personal union with a savior, or through rediscovery of one soul that leads to freedom through knowledge over fate. Both the Stoics and the Epicurean atomistic doctrines suggested that man could be free by withdrawal from troubles and entering solemn peace, whereas the scientific advances did not contribute significantly toward a critique of polytheism.

According to Dampier, the great scientists and natural historians in both the Greek and Roman times -- Archimedes, Ptolemy, Lucretius, Pliny, and Galen -- could not overcome.