There Are No Gods But The Gods
The BBC will be presenting a three-part documentary called “The Story of God”. The documentary will be hosted by scientist and scholar Robert Winston and will look at the history of the belief in gods.
“The series examines the roots of religious beliefs in prehistoric societies and the different ways in which humanity’s sense of the divine developed. It looks at the divergence between religions that worship a range of deities and those that represent strict monotheism.” – BBC Press Release
Will the series drag out the tired trope that monotheism is an advancement or evolution from polytheism? Often in shows like this thousands of years of polytheism from hundreds of different cultures are crammed into a few minutes so that the rest of the show can focus on Christianity and other popular monotheisms. Some of the blurbs don’t seem promising.
“The series begins with Professor Winston delving into the past to discover the beginnings of monotheism, a belief in one true God.”
That is the start? As much as I find the study of monotheism interesting, I’m somewhat tired of documentaries about “God” and belief that gloss over the bulk of human religious history to get to the Bible. I’m hoping this latest series will offer a corrective, but I won’t hold my breath. My UK friends will have to let me know how it goes when the first episode airs on December 4th.
2 responses so far
I know it is trite, but when I see something like this the first thing that pops into my head is that bumpersticker “My Goddess Gave Birth to Your God.”
Jason,
Can you recommend any books that present religious history from a pagan perspective?