Monotheism, the route to disharmony, divisions and conflict , livre ebook

Monotheism, the route to disharmony, divisions and conflict
John Brooke
Austin Macauley Publishers
2018-03-30
Monotheism, the route to disharmony, divisions and conflict About the Author Dedication Other books by the author: Copyright Information © Preface Chapter 1 The World of Ancient Egypt Chapter 2 The Foundations of Monotheism Chapter 3 The Instauration of Monotheism According to Pythagoras “All is numbers” Chapter 4 Reflections on the Monotheism and the Polytheism Chapter 5 The Triumph of Monotheism Chapter 6 The Tragedy of Monotheism Chapter 7 How the Monotheisms Have Changed the World Chapter 8 The Monotheisms and the Conflicts Chapter 9 From Harmony to Discord Chapter 10 Faith and its Implications Chapter 11 From Differences of Opinion to Hate and Death Chapter 12 Towards the Horror That the Monotheisms Can Unleash Chapter 13 The Human Spirit and the Negative Confessions of the Egyptians Chapter 14 Reflections on Monotheism, Polytheism and Democracy References
About the Author
Dr John Brooke was born in 1942. His father, serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, survived thirty missions over occupied Europe and participated at D-Day, and the liberation of France. His mother was an ardent spiritualist.
Educated at an early age by the Catholic order, the De La Salle Brothers, he obtained the prize for catechism with a mark of 100% before being awarded a choral scholarship at Magdalen College School, Oxford, where he was active in music and the theatre; playing the lead role in Shakespeare’s King in Henry IV part two and sharing the post of school organist and the prize for the organ.
He studied medicine at Edinburgh University also obtaining, an honours degree in Pharmacology.
Now retired after nearly half a century of medical practice in the United Kingdom, France and latterly Chad with Médecins Sans Frontières, he has returned to his studies of the organ, particularly the works of J S Bach and has given recitals in Europe and Australia.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of Jules Ferry, Jean Jaurès, Arastide Briand and also to all those who contributed to the Law of 9 th December 1905.
The law that achieved the separation of the church and the state in France.
Other books by the author:
The Physiological Basis of Immediate Care Medicine
Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh 1999
Monotheisme, La Voie vers le Désequilibre et le Conflit
Editions Persée, Aix-en-Provence, France 2009
Contributor to the following book
Principles and Practice of Trauma Nursing
Edited by Rose Ann O’Shea
Elsevier Churchill Livingstone UK 2005
Copyright Information ©
John Brooke (2018)
The right of John Brooke to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781788238823 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781788238830 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781788238847 (E-Book)
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First Published (2018)
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Preface
What is monotheism and what are the characteristics of this form of religion, to which so much disharmony, division and conflict in our world is attributed?
This book relates the manner by which the great civilisations of antiquity, Egypt, Greece and Rome achieved the summit of their power, influence and culture by successfully integrating all that was living and all the events of daily life into a religion that was universal; a religion that, because of its universality and inclusivity, was never the cause of division, hatred or loss of life.
Unlike the monotheisms which each had a single ‘god’, the religions of antiquity had numerous ‘gods’ and were therefore called polytheisms. A term derived from the Greek: polu ’ many’ + theos ‘god’.
Essentially, our polytheistic ancestors believed that the universe, of which our planet earth is a part, had come into being through the intelligence of an entity who was unknown, would remain forever unknown, and with whom human beings would never have any communication.
The need for this creator seemed as logical to our forebears as for Isaac Newton:
“The order that exists in the structure of our world is evidence of a creating power full of intelligence. It is contrary to logic and good sense to believe that order has been established in place of chaos by the simple laws of nature and has continued to be maintained by virtue of these same laws.”
Isaac Newton, Philosopher, mathematician, physicist and astronomer 1643–1727.
In addition to the force that had created the universe and which would forever remain beyond our understanding, this force with whom any exchange was impossible; our polytheistic ancestors had noted that there were forces and influences in the world that affected all areas of their existence. Some of these forces, like the sun were visible and their effects were tangible. Other forces, like the emotions of affection and love clearly existed but were ethereal and unquantifiable.
All these forces were considered to be under the influence of ‘gods’ and as these emotions and feelings were the same for all humanity, so were the ‘gods’ that dealt with each aspect of existence.
Of all these ‘gods’ the most important was the ‘god’ who held the responsibility to maintain the order and justice of our world. For ancient Egyptians the name of this ‘god’ was the ‘goddess’ Maat; depicted since the earliest days of Egyptian civilisation as a young woman bearing on her head a peacock plume.
Our polytheistic ancestors of antiquity therefore perceived their ‘gods’ as forces and influences that they knew existed and that they wished and hoped would influence their lives, in a favourable manner. They respected these ‘gods’ and might even give them small gifts but they did not worship them in the manner that became obligatory for those subject to the strict control of a monotheistic religion, any more than they would worship a modern-day civil servant.
The ‘breakthrough’ that lead to the instauration of all the monotheistic religions was the claim made by the founder of each monotheism, that he had made contact with the creating intelligence of the universe, who may now be called the ‘grand god’, the ‘god’ above all others. In ancient Egypt, this creating force was named the ‘ Nou ’.
Not only did the founder of each monotheism claim to have made contact with the ‘ grand god ’, he also claimed to have received detailed instructions from him, instructions that designated the comportment of mankind. These instructions became the basis of the dogmas of each monotheism.
But whereas in the polytheistic world, that which was considered above all else in its importance, was to maintain the principals of the ‘goddess’ Maat—the just order of our world; in the monotheistic world the priority, high above all others, was to worship the ‘god’ of the monotheism, to believe in all that had been claimed, had been stated by this ‘god’ and to obey unreservedly and without question or doubt all his instructions.
And for those who, for whatever reason, do not comply with the ideas of the particular monotheism? Concerning the action that should be taken against them, no one makes it clearer than the Pope Innocent the third.
“Anyone who attempts to construe a personal view of God which conflicts with Church dogma must be burned without pity.”
Pope Innocent III (1161 AD–1216 AD)
Deep in the vaults of every monotheism is the same option, to eliminate the person who does not conform; and whether in the case of an individual or a mass of individuals, the blind ecstasy that can be provoked by the ardour for a monotheistic ‘god’ and his doctrines has the potential to take over the reason of a person or a group in such a manner that all logic and good sense is lost, and murder, sometimes mass murder takes place.
From early days, men of vision have foreseen the possibility of such deviant behaviour in the context of the monotheisms. The Roman Emperor Julian 330‒363 A.D., had clearly understood that by their very nature the monotheisms are divisive, offering benefits to the faithful rather than the whole of the creation and recommended a return of his fellow citizens to the religion of their forefathers, the polytheism.
In post-revolutionary France, the established church was seen as the last structure that considered its power and authority as greater than the will of the people.
On the 9th December 1905, the President of France pronounced the law of the separation. The object of this law was to separate the Church and the State. In effect, it was the final step in the progression from a royalist and catholic France to a republican and secular France.
The first article of this new law states: “ The Republic assures the liberty of conscience and guarantees that all religions may practice their faith freely. ”
This law assured the liberty to think freely without interference from any authority, the only exclusion to this liberty being the use of this liberty in a manner that put at risk the public order.
But the legislators of 1905 were visionaries, with knowledge of the world of antiquity. They knew well that the monotheism Christian was but one of the many models of religious thought that humanity had created during the long existence of man; man, who had always questioned the reason for his existence and furthermore, man who had posed the most fundamental of all questions summarised by the German p