“‘Monotheism emerges as a philosophical distortion:
“Interpreting "all in each" God as "all in one" God,
"pollutes divine uniqueness"
by imposing otherness where none exists primordially.”
“In his *Life of Plotinus*, Porphyry reports that in Plotinus’ era there were “many Christians and others, and sectarians [αἱρετικοί] who had abandoned the old philosophy,” producing a flood of “treatises” and “revelations” (ἀποκαλύψεις) that deceived many by claiming Plato had failed to reach the depths of intelligible reality; Plotinus repeatedly attacked their views in lectures and devoted an entire treatise—titled by Porphyry *Against the Gnostics* (*Vita Plotini* 16.1–11)—to refuting them, a task so central that Porphyry and fellow student Amelius also wrote multiple works against them. In Plotinus’ day, so-called Gnostics and Christians were barely distinguishable, and no one could foresee any sect gaining hegemony, let alone one that, by capturing imperial power, would eradicate millennia-old cults; thus Plotinus opposed these sectarians not as a menace to the Pagan world but as a distortion of Platonism, since they appropriated Platonic elements and risked passing themselves off as Plato’s true heirs—indeed, modern scholarship shows these Gnostics were often colleagues in a shared Platonic interpretive community, pioneering ideas later taken up by Platonists, making any sharp Gnostic-Platonist divide untenable on specific doctrines. Yet from Plotinus’ explicit treatise we know his chief objection was that they “contract the divine into one” (II.9.9.36–7), i.e., embraced what would later be called monotheism, rendering his sustained engagement the earliest known intensive intellectual critique of monotheism.” ~ Edward P. Butler, PhD.
https://henadology.wordpress.com/philosophy/
Core Metaphysics: Polycentric Polytheism as Ontologically Prior
Gods as Absolute Individuals: In polytheism (e.g., Platonism, Vedic bhakti), divinity precedes all categories.
Each God is "a unique individual, a one as such," with total will and power, encountered via **theophany** (direct revelation).
"All the Gods are in each God," enabling harmonious cosmic order without conflict or division of labor.
Pantheon as Society, Not Class: Gods form a "society" via narrative bonds (myths, rituals), not logical unity.
Their number is finite but indeterminate (at least as many as classes of beings), culturally specific (e.g., Greek, Egyptian pantheons untranslatable).
Aspect Polycentric Polytheism Monotheism (Critiqued)
Divine Uniqueness Positive: Pure "this one" (pre-relational). Negative: "Unlike all others" (categorical exclusion).
Multiplicity Primordial; Gods co-present in each. Collated into "one kind" with single instance.
Cosmos Relation. Each God providentially contains *all* uniquely. Singular creator sustains via mediation/emanation.
Experience. Theophany of living individuals. Appropriates one, negates others.
**Monotheism emerges as a philosophical distortion**: Interpreting "all in each" God as "all in *one*" God, it "pollutes divine uniqueness" by imposing otherness where none exists primordially.
Origins: Not Evolution, But Negation
-No Historical "Rise" from Polytheism: Prof. Butler rejects evolutionary models (polytheism → henotheism → monotheism) as monotheistic polemics. Terms like "henotheism" or "monolatry" (e.g., Biblical Yahweh-worship amid other gods) artificially distance advanced polytheism from "primitive" forms.
-Founding Moment: Intellectual negation, not theophany. "Monotheism per se [is] atheism," as it negates all experiences not fitting its parameters—ultimately even its own devotees'.
-No Single Originator: Dismisses figures like Akhenaten (no lasting Egyptian influence). Biblical: Gradual shift from monolatry (e.g., Exodus) to exclusive monotheism. Philosophical roots in misreadings of Plato/Neoplatonism (e.g., Idea of Good as "God").
Propagation: Christian Hegemony
-Primary Propagators: “Christianity” (hard power: 529 CE edict closing Athens' Academy, silencing polytheistic Platonists; soft power: "monotheizing" philosophy). Later, missionaries/secular ideologies frame polytheisms as "degenerate" from "primordial monotheism" (e.g., Africa, China, India).
-“Mechanism”: “Weaponizes philosophy”—creates false tension (reason vs. piety), alienates polytheists from their traditions. E.g., Plato/Plotinus read as "proto-Christian."
Why?
Control and Totalization
| Motive Explanation
| Intellectual Fails polytheism's "logic of unity/multiplicity"; simplifies to supreme being.
|Political/Hegemonic Suppresses alterity; justifies conquest (polytheisms as "idolatry").
|Existential Negates rival experiences, creating monopoly on "truth" and devotion.
|Endpoint: Atheism Logic concludes in negation of *all* divinity.
Prof. Butler’s Call: Reclaim polytheistic philosophy (Occidental, Greek, Indian) to critique monotheism, ensuring polytheisms' survival amid shared threat.
Sources: Henadology (henadology.wordpress.com), *Essays on the Metaphysics of Polytheism*, *Polytheism in Greek Philosophy*, interviews/articles.
The Henad’s are who and not a what …
“There are two primary structures of multiplicity, polycentric and monocentric. The polycentric multiplicity cannot be generated out of the monocentric multiplicity, and so the polycentric multiplicity should be regarded as prior and the monocentric multiplicity as emergent.
In the polycentric multiplicity, all units are in each unit; this is what makes each unit in a polycentric multiplicity the center for itself and the periphery for another. In the monocentric multiplicity, all units are in one unit, and all units are in this respect “for another” in the monocentric multiplicity.
There are many ways of constituting a monocentric multiplicity, whereas there is only one way of constituting the polycentric multiplicity in the strict sense. In the strict sense, the polycentric multiplicity is the set of existing unique individuals. For this reason, it may also be referred to as the “existential” multiplicity, and monocentric multiplicities as “ontic” or “formal” multiplicities.” Edward Butler, PhD. https://henadology.wordpress.com/philosophy/
The God’s and Being : https://henadology.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gods-and-being.pdf
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Margaret Barker, PhD on the earlier “Temple Theology” of the Canaanite's
usurped and warped polytheism to montheism by the “out of Africa” Levite’s
”A synopsis of Margaret Barker, PhD. on polytheistic elements and views on early Israelite religion and Second Temple Judaism, arguing for a "Great Angel" (often identified as YHWH’s, aka Yahweh's, heavenly figure) within a divine council, challenging later monotheistic interpretations.
Margaret Barker, PhD. a biblical scholar, has developed a thesis challenging traditional views of ancient Israelite religion as strictly monotheistic from its inception. In her seminal work,
The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God
https://ia601800.us.archive.org/29/items/TheGreatAngel/The%20Great%20Angel.pdf
and subsequent writings, argues that early Israelite religion incorporated polytheistic or henotheistic elements, rooted in a divine council presided over by the High God El Elyon (God Most High). Within this framework, Yahweh (YHWH) was not the supreme deity but one of several "Sons of God," functioning as Israel's patron god and often manifesting as the "Great Angel" or a heavenly figure who could appear in human form, as an angel, or embodied in the Davidic king.
Barker posits that this older theology, centered on the “First Temple”, included anthropomorphic visions of God, a role for divine Wisdom (sometimes associated with the goddess Asherah as a heavenly mother figure symbolized by the Temple's menorah), and a complex hierarchy of angels and heavenly hosts. She draws on evidence from the Hebrew Bible, apocrypha, pseudepigrapha (such as 1 Enoch), Dead Sea Scrolls, and other ancient texts to suggest that Yahweh was subordinate to El Elyon, with passages like Deuteronomy 32:8-9 implying that Yahweh received Israel as his inheritance from the Most High, much like other nations were allotted to other divine sons. This "Second God" or Great Angel was the visible, active manifestation of the divine—appearing as the “Angel of the Lord” in narratives like the burning bush or the commander of the heavenly army—while El remained more transcendent and hidden.
According to Margret Barker, PhD, this polytheistic structure was largely suppressed during the reforms of the Deuteronomists, particularly under King Josiah in the 7th century BCE, who centralized worship, merged El and Yahweh into a single monotheistic deity, eliminated references to other gods (including polemics against Baal but not El), and redefined Wisdom as the Law rather than a divine entity. She views the Deuteronomists not as restorers of purity but as a vocal minority who stamped out the mainstream ancient religion, which included heavenly ascents, astronomical lore, and a more mystical worldview. Remnants of this older tradition persisted into Second Temple Judaism (post-Exile, 6th century BCE onward), evident in apocalyptic literature, Enochic writings, and texts that preserved ideas of a divine council, multiple heavenly beings, and the Son of God as a mediator.
Barker's work challenges later monotheistic interpretations by proposing that what became normative Judaism (and influenced Christianity and Islam) was a reformed version, while the pre-Exilic faith was closer to Canaanite polytheism, with Yahweh as a storm god and divine warrior among peers. She extends this to early Christianity, arguing that Jesus was understood as an incarnation of this Yahweh—the Great Angel, Son of God Most High—fitting within a binitarian or proto-Trinitarian framework derived from Palestinian Jewish beliefs, rather than a later Hellenistic invention. This perspective has influenced discussions in biblical studies, though it remains controversial, with some critics viewing it as overly speculative or aligned with specific theological agendas.
In Margaret Barker's reconstruction of early Israelite religion, Asherah plays a central role as a divine female figure, embodying Wisdom (as depicted in Proverbs 8) and functioning as the consort or wife of the high god El (later merged with Yahweh), as well as a heavenly mother and nurturer within the divine council. Barker argues that Asherah was not a foreign or heretical element but an integral part of the mainstream, pre-Exilic theology associated with the First Temple in Jerusalem, where she symbolized fertility, life, and divine mediation—often represented as a stylized tree or pillar, linking her to the Tree of Life motif in Edenic traditions.
Drawing on archaeological evidence (such as inscriptions mentioning "Yahweh and his Asherah" from sites like Kuntillet 'Ajrud), biblical texts, and extrabiblical sources like Ugaritic myths, Barker posits that Asherah originated in Canaanite religion as the consort of El and mother of the gods, a role that carried over into early Israelite beliefs. In this henotheistic framework, she was the "Queen of Heaven" (referenced in Jeremiah 44 as a figure whose worship brought prosperity before its suppression) and the personification of Wisdom, who participated in creation and was present in the Temple as a life-giving essence. Barker specifically identifies the Temple's menorah—a seven-branched lampstand shaped like a tree—as a symbol of Asherah, representing her as the nurturing "Lady of the Temple" who bestowed divine knowledge and apotheosis (human elevation to divine status) through rituals involving oil, manna, and almond blossoms.
This portrayal challenges traditional monotheistic interpretations by suggesting that Asherah's veneration was orthodox in the older tradition, where she complemented the male deities: as mother to Yahweh (the "Great Angel" or Son of God) and facilitator of heavenly ascents and visions of God. However, during King Josiah's 7th-century BCE reforms (described in 2 Kings 23), the Deuteronomists—a reformist faction—expunged her worship, removing her symbols from the Temple, absorbing her attributes into Yahweh, and redefining Wisdom as adherence to the Law rather than a divine entity. Barker views this as a radical departure from the ancient faith, with remnants of Asherah persisting in Second Temple Judaism through apocalyptic texts, the veneration of Wisdom, and even influencing early Christian concepts of Mary as the new "Queen of Heaven" or the Holy Spirit's feminine aspects.