Monotheism --> Totalitarianism and Violence

One is often disturbed by widespread violence that is raging in the world. Our history, though abridged and sanitized, is soaked in blood. And one wants this violence to stop once and for all. But wishful thinking is non-thinking.

Thinking about it, it’s apparent that one of the major reasons behind violence has been the belief that truth is singular. Consequently, one version becomes gospel or the last word and the rest becomes untruth, evil, and worth fighting against. You cannot have a truly plural society with a singular truth. Tolerance is tense by its definition.

All Abrahamic religions believe that there is one and only one God and that God happens to be their God. Other God or other Gods and their worshippers deserve to be fought against. That’s the very fundamental, not mere fringe, of their faith, and of their culture. This belief not only justifies aggression but also makes a virtue out of it. You get the moral license to intrude, in the name of evangelism or jihad. 

The singularity of truth is seen in non-theological Western constructs like Communism that demands nothing less than complete revolution. No wonder the rise of communism is accompanied by complete destruction and countless deaths. It hates everything lock stock and barrel, and allies with all anti-national and counter-cultural forces to meet its delusional and misleading ends. No wonder commies are pally with jihadi terrorists and evangelists in India and elsewhere.

In short, war is the logical conclusion of monotheism and subsequent political systems. Monotheism is religious monopoly, and totalitarian by its very nature, manifested in inquisition, jihad, communism, capitalism, fascism etc. Only polytheistic societies could foster a worldview mature enough to welcome individualism and plurality. Only polytheistic societies could have peace, if they are not destroyed by monotheistic fanatics. All gods, invisible or visible, should be allowed to live in heaven with all their followers and unfollowers on earth in peace.

The bottom-line is this – one must never intrude into other's house. Your freedom ends where his nose begins, even if his nose is unsightly. And this is true not just physically. “No God but our God” is a seed of violence. Nothing decent could come out of it. It’s medieval and it must be relegated to the nearest garbage bin where it belongs.

We must remember that non-violence is the only sensible macro-political strategy in an age when technology could amplify madness to infernal levels.