Monotheism and Dualism Among the Term Paper

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There are further characterizations of God's perfection as a deity, and these include: (1) infinity; (2) unity; (3) simple; and (4) divine. These characteristics, identified by Toner, are evidences that show how monotheism as an idea differs from dualism. Monotheism is unique and absolute; in the same way that there is one truth and reality as one seeks the meaning of life through a God. It does not have dualism's polarities. Instead, what monotheism and its idea of a God share is a deterministic nature of life, a life not influenced by the real and metaphysical, but on the idea of God alone.

The idea of an infinite and united God is consistent with the argument presented in the preceding paragraph. Time does not play a significant role in determining God's efficacy to its believers. Furthermore, mind and matter merge to create a united entity, a characteristic achieved only by God. And because God transcends all the worldly ideas and concepts that humanity has created, God is then considered simple, mainly because it is not spiritual or material, it simply exists as it is. This fact alone explains God's simplicity, though to explain its existence and knowability is actually a complex contemplation to engage in. Lastly, because God is infinite, united, and simple, he is thus divine: an entity that exists for different causes not known by humanity.

These characteristics show that there can only be one God, one entity who has uniqueness and is absolute. Compared against the principles of dualism, the idea of a God alone is enough to show how different monotheism is from dualism.

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Dualism has an altogether different interpretation of the universe. For a dualist, a God that is infinite would surely have a counterpart of a God that is finite. Similarly, it would posit that the God's unique manifestation can be either material/physical or metaphysical. What dualism tries to achieve is to put categories to concepts and ideas in order to identify the reality that humans experience everyday. It is a convenience for human society to be able to identify things, events, and experiences according to their distinct characteristics. After identifying these things, events, and experiences, people then put them into categories and classifications that would make it easier for them to make sense of what is happening to them. It is through these differences that makes dualism an altogether different philosophy from monotheism.

Looking into the nature of both monotheism and dualism, it can be seen that monotheism possesses some of the characteristics that dualism have. However, dualism does not have one characteristic which can make it similar against monotheism. This observation, then, became the reason why the discussion in this paper illustrates how dualism (inevitably) sprung from monotheism. Even though they have different principles, monotheism and dualism share an important similarity, which is that they are able to exist and develop principles based from what they are not. Monotheism cannot distinguish itself as an absolutist religious belief without polytheism and the principles of dualism. Parallel to this, dualism cannot also develop its ideas without monotheism's unilateral perspective......

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