Monotheism is the term used to describe the concept of believing in and worshipping on God, as opposed to polytheism, which is the belief in and worshipping of many gods, or henotheism, which presupposes the existence of several gods but accepts only one God as the supreme authority. The term is most commonly associated with the faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam because of what many scholars perceive as their common heritage in Abraham who is regarded as the common ancestors of all three faiths.
Christian monotheism is better described as trinitarianism. For Christians, the one and only God of Israel is decisively revealed in the self-giving love of the Father who sent Him, and in the life-giving Spirit who pours God’s love into the hearts of believers. The doctrine of the Trinity thus affirms that God is one with the eternal Logos of God incarnate in the crucified Jesus, and one with his life-giving Spirit. The one God freely loves in God’s own being in all eternity and freely shares that love with humanity, drawing humanity into communion with God and each other, the chief end of human existence is therefor to take part in the triune love of God extended to humanity by Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
From the New Dictionary of Theology
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