One True God

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Western history would be vastly different without the belief in One True God. While wars would still exist, religious wars would be absent. Moral codes might prevail, but Commandments would not. If the Jews had been polytheists, they would be just another forgotten people, as extinct as the Babylonians. Likewise, if Christians had presented Jesus as just "another" God, their faith might have faded like Mithraism. Islam, too, would not have emerged from the desert had Muhammad not established Allah as the sole deity, distinct from Arab paganism. The three major monotheistic religions transformed everything. Rodney Stark, with his usual clarity, explores the immense power of monotheism to both unite and divide. He investigates the missionizing efforts of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, examining when and why these efforts stalled. Stark delves into the late eleventh century's rising intolerance towards Jews, leading to mass murders, and analyzes the geographic concentration of Christian and Muslim pogroms. He also considers how Jews managed to endure as a minority faith amidst intense conversion pressures and their instances of assimilation. In the final chapter, Stark reflects on the American experience, illustrating how committed monotheists can maintain civility toward one another. This sweeping social history reveals how monotheism has shaped the past and influenced the modern world.