Monotheism (from Greek μόνος, monos, "single", and θεός, theos, "god") is the belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God.. Monotheism is characteristic of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, most denominations of Christianity, Islam, Sabianism) and also recognizable in numerous other religions such as Zoroastrianism, Bahá'í Faith, Sikhism and even Hinduism.
The word monotheism is derived from the Greek μόνος (monos) meaning "single" and θεός (theos) meaning "god". The English term was first used by Henry More (1614–1687).
Some writers such as Karen Armstrong believe that the concept of monotheism sees a gradual development out of notions of henotheism (worshiping a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities) and monolatrism (the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity).[citation needed][dubious – discuss] However, the historical incidences of monotheism are so rare, that it's difficult to support any theory of the natural progression of religions from polytheism to henotheism to monotheism.[citation needed]
Francesca Stavrakopoulou (born 1975 in Bromley, England with an English mother and a Greek father) is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion in the University of Exeter's department of Theology and Religion.The main focus of her research is Israelite and Judahite history and religion. She is noted for her academic and media roles: presenting a three-part television series on the BBC The Bible's Buried Secrets (2011; not to be confused with the 2008 NOVA program of the same name), and for contributions to Channel 4's series The Bible: A History. She describes herself as 'an atheist with huge respect for religion' and regards her work as 'a branch of history like any other'.
Her DPhil from the University of Oxford, which examined the creation of an imagined past within the Hebrew Bible, was subsequently published with the title King Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities. Her second book was Land of our Fathers: The Roles of Ancestor Veneration in Biblical Land Claims. She has also co-edited Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah and Ecological Hermeneutics: Biblical, Historical and Theological Perspectives. She was a junior research fellow at Worcester College, Oxford, before moving to Exeter.
Imam Shabir Ally is the president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto, Canada. He is a Muslim activist, preacher and speaker on Islam and Muslims.[citation needed] He is also a debater engaging in regular debates in different parts of the world.[citation needed]
He holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, with a specialization in Biblical Literature, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Quranic Exegesis.[citation needed] He is now in his fourth year of PhD studies in Quranic Exegesis at the University of Toronto.[citation needed] He currently teaches Arabic at the University of Toronto.
Ally is known for accepting literal interpretation of the Quran verses, but seeks to find their justification in similar expressions within the Christian Bible. To this end he has participated in a number of debates and lectures.[citation needed] Some of the more notable debates include:[citation needed]
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was an English American author and journalist whose career spanned more than four decades. Hitchens, often referred to colloquially as "Hitch", was a columnist and literary critic for New Statesman, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Mirror, The Times Literary Supplement and Vanity Fair. He was an author of twelve books and five collections of essays. As a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits, he was a prominent public intellectual, and his confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure.
Hitchens was known for his admiration of George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, as well as for his excoriating critiques of various public figures including Mother Teresa, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Diana, Princess of Wales. Although he supported the Falklands War, his key split from the established political left began in 1989 after what he called the "tepid reaction" of the Western left to the Rushdie Affair. The September 11 attacks strengthened his internationalist embrace of an interventionist foreign policy, and his vociferous criticism of what he called "fascism with an Islamic face." His numerous editorials in support of the Iraq War caused some to label him a neoconservative, although Hitchens insisted he was not "a conservative of any kind", and his friend Ian McEwan describes him as representing the anti-totalitarian left.
Burn the flame of my inner sight
I wanna achieve to lighted life
Monotheism
You shall lead my soul toward
The pure thought till I confide
Monotheism
Lord leads your to kill passion
Evil spreads temptation
On wich side should I believe
Who's aware it is deceive
Pervert the creation
The death and destruction
How would be situation
The day of resurrection