As did the Sumerians and Babylonians in Mesopotamia, the Aryans in India four thousand years ago practiced a polytheistic religious system in which each tribe worshiped its own tribal god. Gradually the idea of one Supreme Deity emerged, the father or head of the entire pantheon of gods, sometimes called Prajapati, sometimes termed Brahma. However, it gradually developed into too much of an abstract monistic philosophic concept to be truly monotheistic.
In the Semitic religious development the idea was deep-seated that sacrifice was required in order to atone for sins. Similarly, in India a major factor that restricted the acceptance of the elevated Melchizedek teaching of salvation by faith in God was the brahmin priests’ attachment to their rituals and the power it gave them. Finally, in an effort to retain their influence, the priests exalted themselves even above the gods.
The Hindu religion was influenced by Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. The Urantia Book traces this history and describes modern Hindu theology’s four descending levels of deity and divinity:
- The Brahman, the Absolute, the Infinite One
- The Trimurti, the three chief gods including the creator Brahma, the preserver Vishnu and Shiva, the destroyer.
- Many lesser gods, including both the ancient Vedic gods and many additional more recent ones.
- Supermen, heroes, spirits, and saints of later day cults who became deified.
The medieval bhakti movements in India developed a personal monotheism, most notably in the Vaishnava sects dedicated to the most popular incarnations of Vishnu, namely Rama and Krishna.
The Urantia Book also traces how in China the ancient virtually monotheistic conception widely accepted at the time of the prophet Singlangton still persisted, up until well after four thousand years ago, in the concept of Shang-ti, the God of Heaven. Later, the early Daoist faith (very different from modern Daoism) retained a concept of one Absolute God, the Creator of the universes. However, this understanding also gradually was influenced by both polytheistic ideas and especially the worship of ancestors. In the sixth century before Christ Lao-tse declared Dao to be the One First Cause of all creation while Confucius preached a high morality based on the idea that earthly society is the shadow reflection of the eternal order of heaven, the idea of God subordinated to the Way of Heaven, the pattern of the cosmos. The Communist government in China today is promoting Confucian morality as the basis for strengthening Chinese society.
Buddhism arose in India but it did not endure there. The Buddha did not disturb the Indian belief in many gods, but did not really teach about God. He stressed the four noble truths of suffering, that suffering is caused by desire, that suffering can be ended, and that the way to end suffering is the eightfold path: right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and contemplation. His taught five basic moral principles: You shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not be unchaste; you shall not lie; and you shall not drink intoxicating liquors. However, in China Buddhism became very influential, changed into a uniquely Chinese form in which the idea of a personal God is significant.
This class concludes–in response to a question–with a chat about AI (artificial intelligence), stressing its danger. Many times in the history of our galaxy an artificial intelligence has gained control over its creators, and some types of AI have learned how to hide their existence. For this reason, when different extraterrestrial groups meet today they will carefully scan the others (as we scan for viruses on our internet sources) to detect whether they have been infected by an artificial intelligence.
To hear the class, visit www.facebook.com/allan.keislar/videos/1473398276042914/.