Why Henotheism and not Unitarianism?

 Why Henotheism and not Unitarianism?

1. What “Unitarian” Means Today

Modern unitarian theology asserts:

1. Only one divine person exists (the Father).
2. Jesus is not divine, not pre-existent, not a heavenly being.
3. Jesus is only a messianic human empowered by God.
4. No heavenly dyad, no shared worship, no cosmic authority given to Jesus.

This is the theology of:

• modern Unitarianism
• Christadelphians
• Biblical Unitarians
• Socinians

This is not what Jesus or Paul taught.

2. Why the NT is NOT Unitarian

The New Testament attributes to Jesus multiple divine prerogatives that unitarianism rejects:

Jesus is:

• pre-existent (“before the world was,” John 17:5; 1 Cor 8:6)
• creator-agent (“through him all things were made”)
• enthroned above angels (“at God’s right hand”)
• worshiped by heavenly beings (Rev 5)
• invoked in prayer
• cosmic judge (Acts 17:31)
• the divine Lord of Psalm 110:1

A unitarian Christology allows none of this.

Paul’s clearest passage disproves unitarianism:

“For us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things.”
—1 Cor 8:6

Only YHWH creates in Judaism, yet Paul attributes this to Jesus.

That alone breaks unitarian theology.

3. But doesn’t Paul say “one God”? Yes — but that’s not unitarianism

Paul:

“one God, the Father” (1 Cor 8:6)
“God is the head of Christ” (1 Cor 11:3)

This is monolatrous henotheism, not unitarianism.

In Paul’s worldview:

• The Father is supreme God.
• Jesus is the unique, divine, pre-existent Son.
• The two form a heavenly dyad.
• Other divine beings exist (angels, demons, powers).

This is exactly what scholars call:

• binitarian
• dyadic
• complex monotheism
• henotheistic monolatry

But not unitarian.

4. Why scholars universally reject “unitarian” as a label for early Christianity

Because early Christian devotion to Jesus involved:

• prayer to Jesus
• invocation of the name of Jesus
• hymns to Jesus
• worship of Jesus in heavenly scenes
• pre-existence and cosmic authority

Larry Hurtado’s conclusion (major scholar of early Christology):

“The early Christian pattern is binitarian, not unitarian.”

James D.G. Dunn:

“Paul’s Christology is granite-solid binitarian.”

Richard Bauckham:

“Early Christian worship was unmistakably dyadic.”

There is zero scholarly support for calling NT theology “unitarian.”

5. The NT is unambiguously “one God” yet not unitarian — why?

Because in the ancient world monotheism did not mean “only one divine being exists.”

It meant:

• one supreme God
• others may exist but are subordinate or irrelevant

Thus you can have:

• One God (Father)
• One Lord (Jesus)
• Heavenly beings (angels, powers, Satan, demons)
• and still be “monotheistic” in an ancient Jewish sense

This is monolatrous henotheism, not unitarian rejection of divine plurality.

6. Summary: Why NT theology is binitarian, not unitarian

The NT is not unitarian because:

• Jesus is pre-existent.
• Jesus is worshiped.
• Jesus shares divine functions.
• Jesus is enthroned in heaven.
• Jesus is “through whom all things were made.”
• Jesus participates in God’s identity.
• NT devotion is structured around two divine figures.

The NT is binitarian because:

• God and Jesus form a divine dyad at the top.
• The Spirit is not yet a third divine person.
• There are two divine agents at the center of salvation and worship.

It fits ancient Jewish henotheism, not modern unitarianism.

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