Theological Term of the Week

henotheism
The belief in the existence of many gods while worshiping only one god.

• Scripture teaching against henotheism:

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” [5] For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—[6] yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 ESV).

• From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.

• From What is henotheism? at GotQuestions.org:

Hinduism is a classic example of this belief in practice. Hindus generally worship one god, yet acknowledge that there are many other gods that can be worshiped as well. The religion of the ancient Greeks and their worship of the Olympians is another well-known example, with Zeus being the supreme ruler of eleven other gods. All twelve were worshiped, each individually by a different sect or temple.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Henotheism
2. Blue Letter Bible: What Is Henotheism?
3. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Henotheism
4. Ligon Duncan: God the Clockmaker - Deism

Related terms:

• deism
• idolatry
• monotheism
• panentheism
• polytheism
• atheism
• Trinity

Filed under Isms

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

Round the Sphere Again: Recommended for Listening

Canonical Questions
Brian Auten interviews Michael Kruger on the canon: How was it formed? What are the attributes of canonicity? What about all those other gospels? 

I remember, as a teenager, wondering how we knew which books were scripture and not being completely satisfied with the answers I was given—and I didn’t have Bart Ehrman and others writing books to cause me to doubt. If you have teenaged or young adult kids, you’ll probably find this interview useful for helping you answers answer any questions about the canon that come up.

Historical Discussion
Al Mohler interviews Gregg Frazer about the religious convictions of the American founders. If you like history, you’ll enjoy it, and you might learn something, too.

Preaching by Scripture
From Monergism.com:

Today Monergism.com is announcing a new major addition to its free MP3 offerings which features biblical preaching and teaching from EVERY CHAPTER of the Bible from the ministries of Christ-centered, God-honoring shepherds and theologians who are committed to the historic Christian faith. This includes the sermons and lectures of servants of God such as William Still, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Brian Borgman, Arturo Azurdia III, Eric Alexander, J. Ligon Duncan, Derek Thomas, Edward Donnelly, John MacArthur, James T. Dennison, Jr. Albert N. Martin, Dick Lucas, Alistair Begg and many many more.

Read more—and consider donating. (The MP3 by scripture index is here.)

A Catechism for Girls and Boys

I give my opinion of the answer to this question in the first comment. Tell me what you think.

Part III: Questions about Salvation

92. Q. What is justification?
      A. It is God’s regarding sinners as if they had never sinned and granting them righteousness.  

 (Click through to read scriptural proof.)

Click to read more ...