Michael Hardy
Not saying that makes any sense, but it is not polytheism.

Lynda Bustilloz
(eg) Right. It's polytheism in denial.

Michael Hardy Yeah. You know, today I remembered that bit about how no one knows the time of the end, Jesus says ... "not even the Son, but only the Father." Looks like Jesus didn't think of himself as identical to the Father

Lynda Bustilloz Of course not. The Christian religion and all its theology did NOT spring out of the mind or lips of Jesus, known as the Christ, but developed, over time, as does every other religion that lasts beyond the life of its original guru.

The concept of the Trinity was worked out with MUCH controversy, a couple of hundred years later, once they have finished pushing back their presumed time of Jesus taking on the mantle of 'divinity' from after the resurrection, to the vision on the Mount (with moses, etc), to his Baptism, to his time in the synagogue at age 12, to his birth.... to John's ethereal "In the beginning, there was the Word.."

Each of those turning points was at some point considered the marker of when Jesus the Man became Jesus the Son of God, and as his worship grew and expanded, it was made earlier and earlier in his life, until finally he was God from the beginning of time.... and then we had a little problem, because of that committment to monotheism, in spite of a practice of polytheism that would eventuaully include Mary and every local deity they could sanctify along the way.

So the Trinity was hashed out... and gee whiz, there was already precedent in the pagan cultures they were assimilating of Triune gods and goddesses, so that was acceptable enough as long as they made sure to loudly yell that it was ONE God in THREE Persons, not THREE Gods.

And the locals mostly scratched their heads over the distinction but as long as they could keep enough elements of what they already knew and the Church was willing to let their goddess Mari or whatever local name they called her have a place as the Holy Mother, what the heck... priests are a funny lot anyway, and who has time to argue with crops to bring in and these nuts likely to start burning you if you point out what it is they are doing.

Polytheism, in denial, all down the line.