Monotheism
faith in the One True God
Monotheism was a human religion teaching of a single omnipotent and omniscient deity called the One True God. A minority faith across the Twelve Colonies, it was often treated as zealotry, yet its largest colonial home lay on Gemenon and its conflict with Polytheism recurred throughout the Cycle of Time.
Monotheism was a form of religion practiced by humans which told of a single omnipotent and omniscient deity called the One True God. Because of the influence of the Messengers throughout human history, these faiths likely worshipped the same god. Sectarian strife between followers of Monotheist and Polytheist faiths was a recurring element of the Cycle of Time, and reached its sharpest expression in the Cyrannus Star System, where Monotheists were a persistently ostracized minority. On Gemenon the faith found one of its larger homes, and there the militant Soldiers of The One pledged oaths to protect it.
Origins on Kobol#
Monotheism is known to have arisen on Kobol, either immediately before the Exodus of the Thirteenth Tribe or the Exodus of the Twelve Tribes, and perhaps both. Accounts in the Sacred Scrolls state that "one jealous god began to desire that he be elevated above all the other gods, and the war on Kobol began," language taken to indicate a holy war. The conflict between this single jealous deity and the many gods of Polytheism became a thread running through the Cycle of Time.
Spread through the colonies#
Following the colonization of the Cyrannus Star System, a number of distinct Monotheist religions developed on the various worlds. Throughout colonial history Monotheists represented a minority of the population, which tended toward several Polytheistic faiths, and Monotheist followers were often pushed out of mainstream society and regarded as zealots and moral fanatics. In spite of its strongly Polytheistic history, or arguably because of it, Gemenon was home to one of the larger Monotheistic faiths.
The Gemenese faith#
Gemenon's Monotheistic faith was well established by the twentieth century, though it is uncertain when it first arose. Monotheists of this faith lived secluded monastic lives in the Gramadas mountain range. Their hierarchy consisted of a group of church elders, above whom stood a single monk or nun whose commands were treated as the unquestionable word of God's representative. It was this faith that the Soldiers of The One pledged oaths to protect.
Beliefs#
The core element of Monotheism was that the One True God was all loving and just, despite his desire for worship to the exclusion of all other deities, and that he had a plan for everyone, follower or otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Monotheism in Battlestar Galactica?
- Monotheism was a form of religion practiced by humans which told of a single omnipotent and omniscient deity called the One True God. It was a minority faith across the Twelve Colonies, where its adherents were often regarded as zealots.
- Where did Monotheism originate?
- Monotheism is known to have arisen on Kobol, either immediately before the Exodus of the Thirteenth Tribe or the Exodus of the Twelve Tribes, and perhaps both. The Sacred Scrolls describe a holy war beginning when one jealous god desired to be elevated above all the other gods.
- What did Monotheists believe?
- The core belief was that the One True God was all loving and just, despite his desire for worship to the exclusion of all other deities, and that he had a plan for everyone, follower or otherwise.
- What role did Gemenon play in Monotheism?
- In spite of its strongly Polytheistic history, Gemenon was home to one of the larger Monotheistic faiths, whose monks and nuns lived secluded monastic lives in the Gramadas mountain range. Their hierarchy consisted of church elders, above whom stood a single monk or nun whose commands were treated as the unquestionable word of God's representative, and it was this faith that the Soldiers of The One pledged oaths to protect.
- How did Monotheism spread through the colonies?
- Following the colonization of the Cyrannus Star System, a number of distinct Monotheist religions developed on the various worlds. Throughout colonial history Monotheists remained a minority against the dominant Polytheism, and their followers were often pushed out of mainstream society and branded zealots and moral fanatics.
Sources
- WikiMonotheism — Battlestar Wiki entry
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Related entries
Cyrannus star system
The Cyrannus star system was a double binary of four stars, Helios Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, that contained all Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Settled by the Kobol refugees some two thousand years before the Fall, it was the cradle of colonial civilization.
Polytheism
Polytheism was the dominant religion of the Twelve Worlds, originating on Kobol and worshipping many deities known as the Lords of Kobol. Its faith shaped Colonial politics, ritual, and community, and stood in long opposition to the Monotheist belief in a single God.
Thirteenth Tribe: the lost Cylon people of Kobol
The Thirteenth Tribe were a race of cybernetic beings who originated on Kobol and left it to found their own world. They settled Earth, where the sentient machines they built rose against them in a war that ended in mutual destruction.
Gemenon
Gemenon was a planet of the Cyrannus star system orbiting Helios Alpha, the first world settled by the Kobol refugees and the most religious of the Twelve Colonies. Known for its extreme climate, it shared an orbit with Caprica as a double planet.
Kobol
Kobol was the ancestral homeworld of the Twelve Tribes and the Thirteenth Tribe, abandoned for over two thousand years and rediscovered by the refugee fleet during its search for Earth.
Algae planet
The algae planet was a habitable world orbiting a dying star, briefly settled by the Thirteenth Tribe and later sought by human refugees for its algae before a supernova destroyed it.
Mentioned in8 entries
Barnabas Greeley
Barnabas Greeley was a Caprican Monotheist and a cell commander of the Soldiers of the One. In 1942 he launched a campaign of unsanctioned bombings meant to spread Monotheism through fear, and was eventually executed by his own organisation for it.
Ben Stark
Ben Stark was a Caprican student and Monotheist who joined a breakaway faction of the Soldiers of the One. In 1942 he carried out the suicide bombing of a Caprica City Maglev train, an attack that killed his girlfriend Zoe Graystone and hundreds of others.
God: the One True God of the Monotheists
God, or the One True God, was a metaphysical entity especially concerned with the evolution of humans and Cylons. Its worshippers, called Monotheists, held it to be the only deity worthy of worship, setting their faith apart from the polytheistic belief in the Lords of Kobol.
Keon Gatwick
Keon Gatwick was a Caprican student and Soldiers of the One terrorist who built bombs for Barnabas Greeley's cell and was killed during an internal feud between STO factions in 1942.
Lacy Rand
Lacy Rand was a Caprican student who converted to Monotheism in her teenage years and joined the Soldiers of the One. After surviving the unsanctioned MagLev bombing that killed her friend Zoe Graystone, she rose within the movement on Gemenon to become its Blessed Mother.
Nestor Willow
Nestor Willow was a Caprican Monotheist and member of Clarice Willow's Soldiers of the One cell. A trained computer scientist, he served the cell's technical needs and died during a raid on the Graystone residence.
Olaf Willow
Olaf Willow was a Monotheist terrorist tied to the Soldiers of the One who took orders from his wife, Sister Clarice Willow. He helped hunt rival cells, chase Zoe Graystone's avatar program, and carry out the Atlas Arena bombing, where he died believing the One True God would save his soul.
Zoe Graystone
Zoe Graystone was a Caprican computing prodigy and one of the earliest pioneers of Cylon technology. The daughter of Daniel and Amanda Graystone, she created a digital recreation of her own consciousness, Zoe-A, that would shape the future of artificial life.
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