God Is Not One?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God Is Not One?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html\",\"name\":\"God Is Not One?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God Is Not One?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God Is Not One?","description":"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God Is Not One?","og_description":"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html","name":"God Is Not One?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00","dateModified":"2010-04-28T21:25:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"Via The Wild Hunt, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God Is Not One?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":418,"date":"2010-04-28T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one\/"},"modified":"2010-04-28T21:25:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T21:25:00","slug":"god-is-not-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/god-is-not-one.html","title":{"rendered":"God Is Not One?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Via The Wild Hunt<\/a>, here\u2019s an essay in the Boston Globe from Stephen Prothero<\/a>, a religion professor at Boston University. It\u2019s adapted from his new book God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World \u2013 and Why Their Differences Matter<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t read Prothero\u2019s book (and I don\u2019t know that I will), but his main point in the essay is that folks who say \u201call religions are essentially the same\u201d (a group that includes many, if not most, UUs) are very wrong.<\/p>\n

He has some valid points: \u201cThe gods of Hinduism are not the same as the orishas of Yoruba religion or the immortals of Daoism. To pretend that they are is to refuse to take seriously the beliefs and practices of ordinary religious folk who for centuries have had no problem distinguishing the Nicene Creed of Christianity from the Four Noble Truths<\/a> of Buddhism from the Shahadah of Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he is quite correct when he points out the differences in religions as they are lived out by imperfect (and sometime malicious) followers: \u201cWe need to understand religious people as they are \u2014 not just at their best but also their worst. We need to look at not only their awe-inspiring architecture and gentle mystics but also their bigots and suicide bombers.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Prothero makes the all-too-common mistake of blaming religious differences for problems caused by politics and nationalism: \u201cHow can we make sense of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir if we pretend that Hinduism and Islam are one and the same? Or of the impasse in the Middle East, if we pretend that there are no fundamental disagreements between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?\u201d Yes, there are religious differences in these conflicts. But they pale in comparison to problems of land and culture and the lack of justice (by any definition) in those parts of the world.<\/p>\n

And he claims that \u201cFor most of world history, human beings have seen religious rivals as inferior to themselves \u2014 practitioners of empty rituals, perpetrators of bogus miracles, and purveyors of fanciful myths.\u201d This simply isn\u2019t true, and reflects the attitude of orthodox Christianity, which is still the dominant religion in the West. For most of human history, people have understood that while I worship my gods in my way, people in other lands worship their own gods in their own ways. Only when religions began competing for followers did the \u201cmy god is the only real god\u201d idiocy began. Read the Ten Commandments carefully: the Hebrews didn\u2019t claim that Yahweh was the only god, just that he was the only god they were to worship.<\/p>\n

Prothero is right to call for a greater understanding of religions and religious differences. But he is wrong when he criticizes Hindu teacher Swami Sivananda for saying \u201cThe fundamentals or essentials of all religions are the same. There is difference only in the nonessentials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Religion is a response to the realization that we are alive and that someday we will die. It is an honest attempt to spend our limited years in this world on things of ultimate, rather than transitory, importance. It is an attempt to live a life that is meaningful and helpful, to ourselves, our families, and our world. Those are the essentials, and they are the same whether you believe in no god or one god or many gods.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, God is One. Goddess is One. We are all One. The sooner we all realize that, the better off we\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"