Theological Term of the Week
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 6:25PM monism
“[T]he view that everything is ultimately one,” that “nothing that exists is really distinct from anything else that exists.”1
- Scriptural that disproves monism by affirming the Creator and creation distinction:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)
- From What’s Your Worldview? by James N. Anderson:
[T]he Monist has to say that the apparent diversity we experience in the world is an illusion. The distinctions we make between things are only in our minds, because if those things were really distinct from one another, there would be more than one thing in existence.
Monism is a very radical philosophy. It has generally proven more popular in Eastern philosophies and religions than in Western ones. While it has enjoyed some sophisticated defenders over the course of history, it faces some quite formidable objections. …
[I]t’s tough to live as a consistent Monist. Our everyday thoughts and decisions presuppose real distinctions between things: between your body and my body, between your spouse and my spouse, between your car and my car, between your credit card and my credit card, and so on.
Learn more:
- Christian Apologetics and Research Ministries: What is monism?
- Compelling Truth: Monism - What is it?
- Ligon Duncan: Eastern Pantheistic Monism
- Ken Samples: Pantheistic Monism: An Eastern Mystic Point of View (audio)
Related terms:
- atheism
- finite godism
- materialism
- monotheism
- open theism
- panentheism
- pantheism
- relativism
- skepticism
- Unitarianism
1From What’s Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions
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Reader Comments (1)
I think I want to read Anderson's book.