---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have no historical testimony to the…"
description: "\"“We have no historical testimony to the development of polytheism into pure monotheism;”\" — Herman Bavinck"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png"
---

#  We have no historical testimony to the development of…

![“We have no historical testimony to the development of polytheism into pure monotheism;” quote by Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png)

> ““We have no historical testimony to the development of polytheism into pure monotheism;””

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The transition from many gods to one is not clearly documented historically.

**In simple terms:** Lack of evidence for monotheism’s rise.

Key Takeaway

Recognize historical uncertainty.

Themes

theology history religion

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

theoretical scholarly

When to use this quote

- academic research
- interfaith dialogue
- educational curricula

Key Concepts

development of belief systems historical methodology

Questions to Reflect On

- What evidence would clarify this shift?
- How does uncertainty affect modern faith?

A Different Perspective

Historical records are incomplete and interpretations vary.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Development Polytheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/development-polytheism-5404556/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Monotheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monotheism/) [Polytheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polytheism/) [Polytheism Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polytheism-pure-5404555/) [Pure Monotheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure-monotheism-3279904/)

## Related quotes

> [Among all nations, through the darkest polytheism glimmer some faint sparks of monotheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/among-all-nations-through-the-darkest-polytheism-glimmer-some-faint/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [“The mindset of antiquity lacked economic science and sociological theory. The ancients did rather well with political narrative, although, except for Thucydides, no first-rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-mindset-of-antiquity-lacked-economic-science-and-sociological/)

[Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/)

> [Even the most humane and compassionate of the monotheisms and polytheisms are complicit in this quiet and irrational authoritarianism: they proclaim us, in Fulke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-the-most-humane-and-compassionate-of-the-monotheisms-and/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“Polytheism may be more consonant with contemporary life, its mixed populations, and its recognition of psychic complexity and interdependence, than a rigorous Protestant monotheism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/page-dubois/polytheism-may-be-more-consonant-with-contemporary-life-its-mixed/)

[Page duBois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/page-dubois/)

> [“Know, child, that the One God—He is so vast that He cannot be moved, else the Universe falls. Nor can He answer, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/know-child-that-the-one-god-he-is-so-vast-that-he-cannot-be-moved/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [“To Judaism Christians ascribe the glory of having been the first religion to teach a pure monotheism. But monotheism existed long before the Jews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-remsburg/to-judaism-christians-ascribe-the-glory-of-having-been-the-first/)

[John E. Remsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-remsburg/)

> [The deepest difference between religions is not that between polytheism and monotheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kaufmann/the-deepest-difference-between-religions-is-not-that-between/)

[Walter Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kaufmann/)

> [We are pantheists as natural scientists, polytheists as poets, and monotheists as moral beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-are-pantheists-as-natural-scientists-polytheists-as-poets-and/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“It is a distinction, instead, between two entirely different kinds of reality, belonging to two entirely disparate conceptual orders. In fact, the very division…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-is-a-distinction-instead-between-two-entirely-different-kinds-of/)

[David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/)

> [“. . . In all parts of our globe, fanatics have cut each other's throats, publicly burnt each other, committed without a scruple and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/in-all-parts-of-our-globe-fanatics-have-cut-each-other-s-throats/)

[Baron D'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/)

> [For atheism and polytheism there is no special problem of suffering, nor need there be for every kind of monotheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kaufmann/for-atheism-and-polytheism-there-is-no-special-problem-of-suffering/)

[Walter Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kaufmann/)

> [“If we take any other doctrine that has been called old-fashioned we shall find the case the same. It is the same, for instance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/if-we-take-any-other-doctrine-that-has-been-called-old-fashioned-we/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-studied-the-quran-a-great-deal-i-came-away-from-that-study-with-the/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [I studied the Koran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction there have been few religions in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-studied-the-koran-a-great-deal-i-came-away-from-that-study-with-the/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [“The first extraterrestrial invasion (Gen. 6:4) initiated polytheism after Noah’s Flood (around 2350 BC). Through the early influences of philosophy (600 BC), the false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-w-mardis/the-first-extraterrestrial-invasion-gen-6-4-initiated-polytheism/)

[Jeffrey W. Mardis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-w-mardis/)

## More by Herman Bavinck

> [“Christ is not the founder of Christianity, nor the first confessor of it, nor the first Christian. But he is Christianity itself, in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/christ-is-not-the-founder-of-christianity-nor-the-first-confessor-of/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“Man can as little make propitiation for his sin as he can forgive it himself. But God can do both, atone and forgive; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/man-can-as-little-make-propitiation-for-his-sin-as-he-can-forgive-it/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [Faith and repentance are as much benefits of the covenant of grace as justification . . . . faith and repentance themselves . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/faith-and-repentance-are-as-much-benefits-of-the-covenant-of-grace-as/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“revelation always supposes that man is able to receive impressions or thoughts or inclinations from another than this phenomenal world, and in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/revelation-always-supposes-that-man-is-able-to-receive-impressions-or/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“the plan of salvation in the Christian religion determines the method of Christian theology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/the-plan-of-salvation-in-the-christian-religion-determines-the-method/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“science, which can make known only the interrelations of things, but never their origin, essence and end, will never be able to satisfy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/science-which-can-make-known-only-the-interrelations-of-things-but/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“All culture, whatever significance it may have, just as all education, civilization, development, is absolutely powerless to renew the inner man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/all-culture-whatever-significance-it-may-have-just-as-all-education/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“Without revelation religion sinks back into a pernicious superstition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/without-revelation-religion-sinks-back-into-a-pernicious-superstition/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“The truth and value of Christianity do not depend on the fruits which it has borne for civilization and culture: it has its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/the-truth-and-value-of-christianity-do-not-depend-on-the-fruits-which/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“If the essence of things is unknowable, the misery of man cannot be fathomed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/if-the-essence-of-things-is-unknowable-the-misery-of-man-cannot-be/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“if sin bears an ethical character, then redemption is possible, and conversion is in principle the conquest of sin, the death of the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/if-sin-bears-an-ethical-character-then-redemption-is-possible-and/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“To separate between religion and metaphysics, however often it may have been attempted, is impossible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/to-separate-between-religion-and-metaphysics-however-often-it-may/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“205The segregation and the election of Israel served the sole purpose of maintaining, unmixed and unadulterated, continuing and perfecting, the original revelation, which threatened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/205the-segregation-and-the-election-of-israel-served-the-sole-purpose/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“No psychology of religion can teach us what conversion is and ought to be; the Scriptures alone can tell us that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/no-psychology-of-religion-can-teach-us-what-conversion-is-and-ought/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

> [“Formerly men said that life was thought, but now we are told that life is will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/formerly-men-said-that-life-was-thought-but-now-we-are-told-that-life/)

[Herman Bavinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

[Explore all 105 Herman Bavinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/)

## More History quotes

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/)

[Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/)

> [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/)

[Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/)

[David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/)

> [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/)

[Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/)

> [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/)

[Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/)

> [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/)

[Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/)

> [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/)

[C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/)

> [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/)

[Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/)

> [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

[Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“We have no historical testimony to the development of polytheism into pure monotheism;”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Herman Bavinck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-development-of-polytheism-into/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "History"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-development-of-polytheism-into/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17a/herman-bavinck-4872_history_we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-d_3105956.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We have no historical testimony to the development of polytheism into pure monotheism;” — Herman Bavinck",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Herman Bavinck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-bavinck/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“We have no historical testimony to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-development-of-polytheism-into/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-bavinck/we-have-no-historical-testimony-to-the-development-of-polytheism-into/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
