In the Qur’anic conception of the world everything in
the heavens and on earth is imbued with knowledge
of God and proclaims his glory; similarly instinctive
knowledge of the Supreme Being is embedded in each
human soul as an inborn part of human nature.16
Moreover, all peoples on earth have received divine
messengers at some time in the course of human
history or pre-history.17 Consequently, God and his
names are part of a universal human legacy. They are
hardly unique to anyone, nor are the Abrahamic religions
the sole residuaries of divine names expressing
the Creator’s perfection and glory.
The world’s many micro-religions (i.e., primitive
religions) contain hundreds of names for God, bearing
witness to his oneness, preexistence, eternity, omnipotence,
omniscience, omnipresence, goodness, and
justice. There is an observable pattern in the microreligions
to regard the Supreme Being as the source
5
One God, Many Names
of all vital knowledge, moral norms, and essential
social conventions. Like pre-Islamic Arab paganism,
micro-religions associate deified human beings, lesser
spirits, and intermediaries with God, although they
consistently lack the full-blown pantheons typical of
the polytheistic religions of many ancient civilizations.
Numerous micro-religions commemorate a primeval
time of the “old religion,” when harmony existed between
the Supreme Being and their forebears, an age
of pristine happiness which was brought to an end
through wrongdoing, estrangement, and alienation.18
The micro-religions reflect instinctive commonsensical
knowledge of God without the intricate
metaphysical theologies of civilized peoples. As with
the pre-Islamic Arab cult of All¥h, micro-religions
refrain uniformly from associating the Creator God
with idols, images, or pictures, for they insist that he
cannot be seen with physical eyes nor touched by human
hands. The Nilotic tribes of southern Sudan, for
instance, share an ancient belief in “the Great God,
who created humankind,” and, although they associate
intermediaries with him, they acknowledge that he
is eternal, without origin or likeness, all-knowing and
all-powerful, upholding the moral order.
Around 1906, a European anthropologist studied
the Shilluk, one of these Nilotic tribes, and once asked
a six-year old boy from the tribe who had created him.
Without hesitation, the little boy answered, “Dywok
(God) created me.” The anthropologist pressed further,
asking what Dywok was like and where he came
from. With childlike self-assurance, the boy quickly replied
that he did not know, but his father surely would.
To his astonishment, neither his father nor immediate
kin had an answer, but the child kept inquiring until
he finally brought the question before his tribal elders.
They replied:
Dywok, we only know that he exists. We know he
made the sky that you see above, the stars, all the
animals, and even people—both black and white—but
who Dywok actually is, no one in Shilluk can say. For
no one has seen him. What we know is this: Dywok is
there and made everything. Even if you cannot see him,
yet he is there…like the breeze that blows. Even if no
one can see the breeze, yet it blows. No one has doubts
about that.19
The micro-religions are filled with telling names of
God. “Creator” and “Maker” are virtually universal.
Native Americans had many names for God. The
Cheyenne called him “Creator of the universe” and
“Lord of the entire heaven and earth.” The Californian
Maidu called him “Ruler of the world.” The Fox called
him “the Guide” and “the Good Spirit.” The Lenape
called him “Our Creator,” “You to whom we pray,”
“Pure Spirit,” and “You to whom we belong.” Some
South African Bushmen and the pygmies of Gabon
called him “the Lord of all things.” The Siberian
Samoyeds knew him as “the Creator of life.” The Ainu
of Japan called him “the Divine Maker of the worlds,”
“the Divine Lord of heaven,” “the Inspirer,” and “the
Protector.” The Wirdyuri of Australia called him “the
Eternal,” and several Aboriginal tribes designated
him as “the Great Builder” and “the Great Maker,”
although certain Aborigines and African Bushmen
held the Creator’s name to be inviolable (taboo)
and imparted it only to adult male initiates, while
concealing it from women, children, and outsiders.
Ancient civilizations also bear witness to a
primordial knowledge of the One. Although the
pharaonic Egyptians were highly polytheistic, their
language contained abundant names and attributions
for the Supreme Being distinct from the personified
gods of their pantheon. Ancient Egyptian was replete
with seemingly endless synonyms for God (Neter,
Sha‘, Khabkhab, ¤ep^ep, Shesa, Sedga, Saj, Nethraj,
Nekhbaj, Khetraj, Itnuw, and so forth). There were
names for “the Creator” (Kewen, Kun, Ne^ef),
“Creation’s God” (Nebirut), and “the Giver of forms”
(Nebi). They invoked “the High God” (Neter ‘A), “the
6
One God, Many Names
Lord” (Nebu), “the Divinity from preexistence” (Nun,
¤a^u), “the Divinely Merciful” (¤etefi), “the Divine
Destroyer” (¤etem), “the God of truth and balance”
(Sema Ma‘at), “the God of humankind” (Itmu), and
“the Lord of all” (Neberdher).20
The ancient Chinese worshipped a personalized
“Creator” (Tsao wu chê), “the Ruler of heaven”
(Shang Ti), “Heaven’s Lord” (Ti’en Ti), and “the
Lord” (Ti), although “Heaven” (Ti’en) later became
the most common Chinese name for God and sometimes
reflected astral beliefs. But an ancient Chinese
dictionary says of “Heaven” (Ti’en): “The exalted in
the highest of his exaltation. His ideogram combines
two symbols, which mean ‘the One, who is the most
great.’” Some ancient Chinese scholars wrote that
“Heaven” (T’ien) had been substituted for “the Ruler
of heaven” (Shang Ti) in the ancient past, because “it
is not permissible that the name Shang Ti be taken
lightly. Therefore, we call him by the name of the place
where he abides, which is ‘heaven,’ that is, ti’en on the
analogy that ‘the court’ signifies ‘the emperor.’”
The Sanskrit Vedas of ancient India contain a notable
vocabulary for the Supreme Being: “the Creator”
(Dhâtr), “the Lord of the creatures” (Prjâpati), “the
Maker of all things” (Vishvakarman), “the Regulator
of things” (Vidhâtr), “the Manifest One” (Dhartr),
“the Protector” (Trâtr), “the Guide” (Netr), “the Giver
of forms” (Tvashtr), and “the Animator” or “Reviver”
(Savitr). One of his names was simply “Who” (Ka),
signifying the one who is ultimately unfathomable and
beyond finite description. In later times, Ka was frequently
used to designate the Supreme Being.
this proves even the polytheistic religions at one point or another recognized a supreme beings over even the other lesser gods they worshipped. traces of monotheism can be found in all the worlds religions but they have been corrupted over the years. the original message was a call to worship
the one god, the creator and sustainer of the univers (god, allah, whatever you want to call him) but we know human nature to fall into idol worship and associate partners with god. i think since we cannot see the one god he seems very distant to us it is much easier to have images of him or make idols of lesser gods to intercede on our behalfs and this is basic human nature the need to feel and see thus falling into idol worship.
Not quite their modern society, but their classical one. That's a whole different subject though. I wouldn't try to change them if I were religious.