📖 Biblical Definition
The most fundamental distinction in all of reality, according to Scripture, is the Creator-creature distinction. God is self-existent, eternal, and infinite; creation is dependent, temporal, and finite. Monism collapses this distinction by asserting that everything is ultimately one substance. But God is not part of creation, and creation is not part of God. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) -- this single sentence refutes all forms of monism. The Creator is distinct from and sovereign over what He has made. He transcends it while also sustaining it. This is not dualism in the philosophical sense but the biblical reality of a personal God who is other than His creation yet intimately involved with it.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Not found as a standalone entry in Webster 1828.
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The term "monism" was not widely used in English philosophy in 1828. The concept, however, was present in various forms -- particularly in Spinoza's pantheistic philosophy, which identified God with nature. Webster's biblical worldview implicitly rejected monism by maintaining the personal, transcendent God of Scripture who is distinct from His creation.
📖 Key Scripture
• Genesis 1:1 — "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
• Isaiah 55:8-9 — "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."
• Romans 1:25 — "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator."
• Acts 17:24-25 — "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Monism erases the Creator-creature distinction, opening the door to pantheism and self-deification.
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Monism enters the church primarily through Eastern mysticism and New Age spirituality -- the idea that "all is one," that there is no real distinction between God and creation, between sacred and secular, between you and the divine. When Christians say "the divine is within you" in a monistic sense, they have erased the Creator-creature distinction that is the foundation of all biblical theology. If everything is one substance, then sin is an illusion, judgment is meaningless, and the incarnation is unnecessary. Monism also fuels environmental pantheism -- treating nature itself as sacred rather than as God's creation to be stewarded. The Bible says creation reflects God's glory; it does not say creation IS God.
Usage
• "Monism says all is one -- Genesis 1:1 draws the most fundamental line in reality: God is Creator, everything else is creation."
• "The New Age teaching that 'the divine is in everything' is monism, not Christianity -- God is present to His creation but distinct from it."
• "If all is one substance, there is no sin, no judgment, and no Savior -- monism destroys the gospel at its foundation."