| Jainism,
Taoism, Shinto and a number of other religions do not have such a Creator God either but
see Karma or simply Nature as the creative force. Some Hindu groups like Sankhya are not
theistic either. Many religions, including Hinduism, have a multiplicity of deities
or names and forms for Spiritual Reality. This
is also not accepted by monotheistic religions, which have branded religions that are not
strictly monotheistic as polytheism and idolatry, and thereby heretical or sinful. Rather
than saying that all religions are based upon a recognition of God-which is not at all
true-it is more accurate to state that all religions recognize a Spiritual Reality, which
may be called variously God, Allah, Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu, Tao, or any number of names
according to the particular system involved. This Spiritual Reality may be defined
according to monism, monotheism, pantheism, polytheism, or any number of ideas or made to
transcend all ideas. |
