Monotheism

I've been chewing on the various views of God lately, particularly because of HS620DE - American Christianity, which from time to time discusses the Deism and Unitarian leanings of some of the Founding Fathers. I think there are essentially five views of God around the world, orthodox Christianity falling into only one of them.

> A multiplicity of gods with varying forms and interests
> One God present in a multiplicity of forms (tree, wolf, moon)
> One God without form, impersonal, a cosmic binding life force
> One God without form, but personal (may be distant or engaged, may have an anointed human representative)
> No god at all, save that which we may invent for psychological purposes (a'la Santa Claus or the Boogey Man)

The fourth category is where Christianity has normally found itself, along with a few other versions of monotheistic religions, too. Ancient Greek, Roman, Hindu and Norse traditions fall in the first; Animist and native religions in the second; Eastern, Deist, and New Age views in the third; Islamist, Jewish and Christian groups in the fourth; and humanist/materialist/secularist/atheist philosophies in the last.

I think that pretty much covers it. I'm not sure where you'd put those who deal in the occult - Wiccans and Satanists may not be in the same bucket. I don't think real deeply about those particular ideas. More later on what makes up the essence of the Christian message.