Origins of the First Monotheistic Religion in History
The concept of a single, supreme deity, or monotheism, has roots that predate the formal establishment of Christianity, with some early Christian writers acknowledging its presence in various ancient traditions. Justin Martyr, for instance, noted that Orpheus, often considered a foundational figure in Greek polytheism, ultimately addressed his son Musaeus and other followers concerning "the one and only God" [1]. This suggests an ancient recognition, even within polytheistic contexts, of a singular divine principle.
Within early Christian thought, the "ancient and Catholic Church" was understood to collect believers into the "unity of the one faith," which was seen as stemming from the will of "the one God, through one Lord" [3]. This emphasis on unity and singularity in God was a defining characteristic of early Christian theology.
However, the development of monotheistic understanding was not without its challenges and deviations. Various heresies emerged that, while sometimes acknowledging a supreme deity, introduced complex or divergent cosmologies. Basilides, for example, posited a supreme Deity named Abraxas, from whom Mind, Word, Providence, Virtue, and Wisdom sprang, leading to further emanations of principalities, powers, and angels [4]. Similarly, Monoimus the Arabian taught that the universe's originating principle was a "primal man and son of man," with creation occurring through a part of this Son [6]. These systems, while acknowledging a primary source, often complicated the simple monotheistic understanding of a single, undivided God.
Another figure, Theodotus of Byzantium, introduced a heresy that partially aligned with the "true Church" in acknowledging that "all things were created by God," but then diverged significantly in his understanding of Christ, drawing from Gnostic and Ebionite schools of thought [5]. Such examples illustrate the ongoing theological work in the early centuries to define and defend a coherent monotheistic doctrine against various alternative interpretations.
The emergence of figures like Scythianus, who lived during the time of the apostles, also highlights how individuals could become "founders and leaders" of sects by presenting "falsehoods for the truth" due to an "ambitious desire of arrogating positions of superior importance" [2]. These early challenges underscore that while the concept of one God was central to nascent Christianity, its precise articulation and defense against alternative, often complex, theological systems was a continuous process.
Sources
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 1: Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus — CHAP. XV.--TESTIMONY OF ORPHEUS TO MONOTHEISM. (part 1): At all events, we must remind you what Orpheus, who was, as one might say, your first teacher of polytheism, latterly addressed to his son Musaeus, and to the other legitimate auditors, concerning the one and only God.And he spoke thus:-- "I speak to those who lawfully may hear: All others, ye profane, now close the doors, And, O Musaeus! hearken thou to me, Who offspring art of the light-bringing moon: The words I utter now are true indeed; And if thou f”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 6: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Julius Africanus, Methodius, Arnobius — WITH THE HERESIARCH MANES. (part 112): nor the only originator of this type of doctrine. But a certain person belonging to Scythia, bearing the name Scythianus,[9] and living in the thee of the apostles, was the founder and leader of this sect, just as many other apostates have constituted themselves founders and leaders, who from time to time, through the ambitious desire of arrogating posititions of superior importance to themselves, have given out falsehoods for the truth, and have perverted the simpler clas”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 2: Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria — CHAP. XVII.--THE TRADITION OF THE CHURCH PRIOR TO THAT OF THE HERESIES. (part 2): into many sects. Therefore in substance and idea, in origin, in pre-eminence, we say that the ancient and Catholic[4] Church is alone, collecting as it does into the unity of the one faith--which results from the peculiar Testaments, or rather the one Testament in different times by the will of the one God, through one Lord--those already ordained, whom God predestinated, knowing before the foundation of the world that they would be right”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. I.--EARLIEST HERETICS:[2] SIMON MAGUS, MENANDER, SATURNINUS, BASILIDES, NICOLAUS. [THE WORK BEGINS AS A FRAGMENT.] (part 2): there will by no means be. Afterwards broke out the heretic Basilides. He affirms that there is a supreme Deity, by name Abraxas,[14] by whom was created Mind, which in Greek he calls N<greek>ous</greek>; that thence sprang the Word; that of Him issued Providence, Virtue,[15] and Wisdom; that out of 650 these subsequently were made Principalities, powers,[1] and Angels; that there ensued infinite issues and processions of angels; that by the”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 5: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian — CHAP. XXIII.--THE HERESY OF THEODOTUS.: But there was a certain Theodotus,(8) a native of Byzantium, who introduced a novel heresy. He announces tenets concerning the originating cause of the universe, which are partly in keeping with the doctrines of the true Church, in so far as he acknowledges that all things were created by God. Forcibly appropriating, however, (his notions of) Christ from the school of the Gnostics, and of Cerinthus and Ebion, he alleges that (our Lord) appeared in some such manner as I shall now describe. (According to th”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 5: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian — CHAP. XIII.--MONOIMUS.: But the followers of Monoimus the Arabian assert that the originating principle of the universe is a primal man and son of man; and that, as Moses states, the things that have been produced were produced not by the primal man, but by the Son of that primal man, yet not by the entire Son, but by part of Him. And (Monoimus asserts) that the Son of man is iota, which stands for ten, the principal number in which is (inherent) the subsistence of all number (in general, and) through which every number (in particular) consists”