Monotheism And Its Impact On Christianity

Christianity is one of the three major religions of the world, along with Judaism and Islam. A study in 2015 found that “Christians remained the largest religious group in the world… making up nearly a third (31%) of Earth’s 7.3 billion people…”. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, and Christians believe “in One God that created heaven, earth, and the universe”. They also believe that Jesus is the son of God, and Christians “base their beliefs on the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ”. Christians see the world through, “a comprehensive view… from a biblical standpoint”; their world is shaped by their theology of the Holy Trinity, moral absolutes, and dualism. The Christian worldview has shaped many people’s lives for those who

Christianity, in its early years, was actually considered to be a sect of Judaism. When the two religions split from each other, this stopped being true, but Judaism had left its mark on Christianity regardless. Christianity becoming monotheistic comes from, “the Jewish faith’s monotheistic belief in one God”, which influenced and shaped the Christian doctrine of one God. The difference in their monotheistic views is that Judaism views God as one, while Christianity views God as three; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The following of the moral and ethical code of the Ten Commandments originated in Judaism, with Moses receiving them on top of Mount Sinai; the following of the Ten Commandments is also found in Christianity, and “Christians believe that all people should strive to follow Christ’s commands… this includes obedience to the Ten Commandments…”. The concept of a messiah found in Christianity also comes from Judaism, as shown in the Torah/Old Testament in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”. Christianity took this concept, and they believe that Jesus Christ is the messiah mentioned in Samuel. Judaism

Although it’s not so much due to other religions anymore, but more so from the culture of society. As people have become more secular in their everyday beliefs, Christianity has slowly been embracing it to remain appealing to those who might possibly convert. Christianity realized the behaviors of the people have changed, so it’s adapted to the culture. This can be seen with the emergence of the megachurch phenomenon. People can go to church wearing informal dress, such as jeans instead of dress clothes, and services have an “inclusion of music that sounded just like the popular rock and folk music of the day”. Slowly, organ and choir music disappeared from churches and more folk/rock music with Christian lyrics found its way into most churches. Megachurch culture is “transforming the way that Christians in … other traditions experienced Sunday… services”. Christianity is embracing the “cultural currents” of the times in order to purpose the church towards the people. Just as before, when Christianity embraced the customs of the time for pagan religions, it is now adapting towards the customs and the behavior of people