What did the Romans think about early Christians?

@Theyitis Judaism is monotheistic as well.

@RedBaron Not according to sociologists. I’m not sure what the reasoning is on Judaism, but they recognize Islam as the only truly monotheistic religion.

I’m just speculating here, but it might be because Judaism isn’t iconoclastic like Islam is; furthermore, Jews also believe in a Messiah, just that he hasn’t made it to earth yet. The Messiah probably still counts as another god.

@Theyitis Not really. Islam and Judaism are both Abrahamic and monotheistic.

Consider the possibility that your sociologists are wrong.

@RedBaron It’s a consensus within the field of sociology. Maybe some day the consensus could change with new information, but all the world’s best sociologists currently agree on the matter. Do you even have a degree in sociology?

@Theyitis No, but I have a more in-depth Jewish education than you or any sociologist.

@Theyitis Without doing a deep dive now into sociology I would say:

I think you made a mistake, I doubt sociologists would say what you attribute to them. One can trace Judaism's progressing from polytheism through monolatry and henotheism to true monotheism. By well before the first century the Israelites were monotheistic. The whole idea of a trinity didn't arise in Christian thought until centuries later. Tehy were both monotheistic. Other monotheistic religions include Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, the form of Buddhism that maintains the Buddha is the one god, and the cult of Amun-Ra. Islam is monotheistic, but it hardly stands alone in this.

@SparkleLeaf Think what you want.

@Theyitis I would say the same to you. Think what YOU want and consider if and why it matters.

@Theyitis I would say don't just think what you want; take a few minutes to look something up. Full disclosure, I didn't read the whole thing. This is one of several sociological articles I found literally using Judaism as an example of a monotheistic religion:

https://easysociology.com/sociology-of-religion/monotheism-an-introduction/#h-the-origins-of-monotheism

Early on it echoes something I had said, that Hebrew scripture shows Judaism becoming monotheistic. It later goes on to make this statement: "Monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, developed distinct rituals, symbols, and traditions that differentiated their adherents from others."

It doesn't seem to mention the monotheistic religions that are older than Judaism, such as Zoroastrianism and the cult of Amun-Ra, but it still points out that Islam is just one of many.

@SparkleLeaf In sociology they consider a lot of things to be “gods” that leaders of those religions don’t call gods. Sure, all those religions claim to be monotheistic, but how many of them really only worship one god. One of the unique things about Islam is that’s iconoclastic. They don’t even allow you to make pictures of other people lest you should be tempted to worship them. Most other religions wouldn’t say they “worship” pictures, but sociologists might say they do.

Also, I don’t know where my notes are from that sociology class in which the professor claimed that Islam is the only truly monotheistic religion, and I don’t really want to take the time to dig them out. Heck, I’m not even sure I took notes on that particular discussion.

@Theyitis So your post is based on what was taught in one sociology class? Have you considered that this particular professor was biased, misinformed, and/or just, you know, wrong?

@RedBaron And what are your comments based on? Have you ever stopped to consider maybe you’re just biased, misinformed, and/or just, you know, wrong?

I don’t see any reason this professor would be biased towards Islam. He was a white American who didn’t believe in any kind of spiritual gods himself. He didn’t follow any organized religion.

@Theyitis My lifelong experience with and knowledge of Judaism. Much more extensive and in depth than some random guy teaching at a second- or third-rate university.

@RedBaron I bet.

@Theyitis You should. You would make yourself some money.

@Theyitis I think it's far more likely that you misunderstood and/or just remembered wrong. You don't have anything in writing to look at, whereas a few seconds on Google renders several documents stating the opposite. Moreover, Judaism also bans the use of icons, it is literally one of the Ten Commandments. Christians do with that what they do: Most claim to follow the commandments, others don't, but none of them really do. How many Ten Commandments advocates do yard work on Saturday? According tot he commandment, that's a death sentence (Numbers 15:32-36).

https://study.com/learn/lesson/what-is-monotheistic-religion.html

https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.02%3A_Types_of_Religions/14.2C%3A_Theism_and_Monotheism

https://easysociology.com/sociology-of-religion/monotheism-an-introduction/

https://docs.iza.org/dp3116.pdf

@SparkleLeaf When was the last time the Jewish community was outraged because a rabbi was depicted in a political cartoon? One of the Ten Commandments is to not worship idols, but it doesn’t say anything about drawing pictures of people.

I know what I heard, and I probably read it somewhere too. I’m on my phone, so I can’t copy and paste those links right now.

@SparkleLeaf You get the concept, right? Another example is Hinduism. Now if you asked a learned Brahmin he would tell you that Hinduism is monotheistic. He would say that God wears many different masks, but they’re all actually the same God; however, does the average Hindu understand that? No, the average Hindu most likely thinks he’s worshipping Krishna and Vishnu and Jesus and all the other gods they worship as separate gods. Therefore, despite what the Brahmins would say, the sociologists would say that Hinduism is polytheistic.

@RedBaron Why is it important to you that Judaism is monotheistic? I can accept that sociologists think Christianity is polytheistic, but that doesn’t make my religion any less valid.

@Theyitis "You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God and I punish a parent's fault in the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren among those who hate me;"

-- Exodus 20:4-5

The ban is on both carved images and likeness in drawing. Not all Jews follow that law to the letter but many still do. You are actually going to fault the ones who do for not forcing their religion on others? I lived half my life as a Christian, but never once did I try to murder somebody for committing adultery. Would you conclude that adultery is not against Christian rules?

I have heard the theory that the many Hindu gods can be traced back to one god. It's actually quite intriguing to watch. It sort of mirrors what the Israelites did long ago, combining Yahweh, Asherah, Ba'al and others into one god. And also the cult of Amum-Ra combining two gods. Heck, even the god of Zoroastrianism is an amalgamation of earlier gods. And closer to the point, this whole thing has already been done in Sikhism, an offshoot of Hinduism. Then there is also Mahayana Buddhism, where the many gods of Hinduism are replaced by a single god.

We can debate what we each think about all these things ad nauseam. But what would be the point? Your claim is that sociologists say there is only one monotheistic religion. I proved that they do not claim this with a Google search that took less than a minute:

https://study.com/learn/lesson/what-is-monotheistic-religion.html

https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Religion/14.02%3A_Types_of_Religions/14.2C%3A_Theism_and_Monotheism

https://easysociology.com/sociology-of-religion/monotheism-an-introduction/

https://docs.iza.org/dp3116.pdf

@Theyitis Because it’s the truth, and truth is important.

Without the truth being known, we get people like you spreading ignorance like your post here.