After a few tens, perhaps hundreds of millennia during which Homo sapiens dwelt in the company of a multitude of gods, goddesses and godlike thingies (along with heaping handfuls of demons, sprites and trolls) the idea arose to put an end to the madness and, as a disciplinary measure, declare that there is just the one God whom everyone must perforce worship and revere. Much blood has been spilled as a result, until a sort of tense standoff was reached, in which various theologians confirmed, squirming in their seats the whole while, that there is just the one God, be he God of the Jews or the Moslems, in spite of such minor doctrinal differences as the right to have more than one wife or whether serial adulterers should be stoned to death by an enraged mob or invited to talk shows together with their multiple jilted lovers.
The source of monotheism can be traced to Zoroastrianism, which arose in Persia in the 6th century BC. In its current state, this religious mythology is represented by its two most prevalent forms—Judaism and Islam. Both can be adequately summarized by the statement “There is no God but G-d/Allah.” This statement of denial indicates that not all is well with the “mono” aspect of monotheism: the necessity of denial ipso facto admits the possibility of affirmation while emphasizing its undesirability. Right in the second book of the Old Testament is the following line: “I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God…” [Exodus 20] “Jealous of whom?” inquiring minds automatically want to know. Thus, the relevant arithmetic-defying formula of monotheism is 1≠1.
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