From a fundamentalist position, which is a strict adherence to Bible teaching, Christian belief is rooted in the fact that there is but one God and one way to God, which is Jesus Christ. God told Isaiah (43:10-11): "You are my witnesses, … and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.” In John 14:6, Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is straight forward, “thus saith the Lord,” scripture. It requires no deduction, induction, inference or interpretation to understand what is being said. There is one God: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is one source of salvation: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is but one way to God and that is by taking Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of your life. From a Fundamentalist Christian perspective there is absolutely no way a person can argue against this truth … yet, there are those who believe in multiple Gods, or multiple ways to God, and still call themselves a Christian.
From the beginning there have been those who call themselves one thing with their mouth but believe another thing in their minds and hearts. Once Christianity became the “state religion” there were many who truly believed in multiple Gods but they called themselves Christian because it was the smart thing to do. As the world eventually mellowed in its Christian dogma, and human reasoning established itself as a valid form of scriptural investigation, people became more tolerant of non-classical Christian perspectives. In other words, for many people the concept of being a Christian took on a broader definition. This trend has continued and today there are many people who call themselves a Christian with their mouth but in their minds they believe in multiple Gods or multiple ways to God.
People still call themselves “Christian” because society is hanging onto the image of Christianity as being the preferred religion in the United States. As a result, America is filled with people who call themselves a Christian but believe there is salvation outside of Jesus Christ. When a person calls himself or herself a Christians but actually believe that “God” exists in multiple deities or expressions then they are not really Christians. It is either through a lack of understanding or the desire for society’s acceptance, or a combination of the two, that a person assumes such an oxymoron position.
Society has forced people to hide what they really believe behind a moniker, which stands for the exact opposite of their belief. It is so wrong for a person to say: “there are many paths to eternal life, but I have chosen the teachings of Jesus as my path.” Remember, Jesus himself taught that: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck then it is a duck … in spite of what you might want to call it. If a person does not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus; If a person does not believe in the incarnation of Jesus; If a person does not believe in the deity of Jesus; If a person does not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus; If a person does not believe in atonement of Jesus; and If a person does not believe in the absolute authority of Jesus then why would you call yourself a Christian.
The belief that there are multiple deities, or that there is a spiritual force permeating all of nature, walks like, sounds like and looks like polytheism. A polytheistic belief system is one where the people believe in multiple deities and/or multiple manifestations of a deity(s). There are polytheists who worship multiple deities at the same time and they are called kathenotheists. If the polytheists do not worship all the gods equally they are called monolatrists. A Monolatrists believes that multiple gods exist but they also believe that the god they have chosen is really the only one that deserves to be worshiped. Then, there is Henotheism, which is the belief in one principle god but the willingness to believe that perhaps other gods do exist, which may be worth worshipping. Those who say that: “there are many paths to eternal life, but I have chosen the teachings of Jesus as my path,” either lack understanding or else they are a slave to their desire for society’s acceptance. In reality, such a person is a monolatrist or hentheist pagan; even if they do not know it. The idea that there is one universal God who is manifested in multiple religions and beliefs is just plain polytheism (paganism) hidden behind a Christian shroud.
A Fundamentalist Christian is generally quick to deny the existence of Pagan gods but in so doing they are in error. Paul told the Corinthians (8:4-6): “So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” There is a pantheon of gods out there and anyone who is a true pagan should have no difficulty in finding one to worship. When Paul was walking around Athens he saw numerous statues the people had erected to their many Gods. In Acts 17:22- 23 it is recorded that: “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” Paul never challenged the existence of the Athenian’s many gods. What Paul did was to explain to the Athenians that there is but one true God and one way to the true God and that it is through Jesus. A Fundamentalist Christian should never question the existence of many so-called gods: created by Satan. At the same time, a Christian should realize that their powers are subordinate to the one true living God.
A second pagan movement in Christendom, which is gaining strength, is the belief that the universe and god are one. Many people who call themselves Christian resist being viewed as a polytheist because they do not believe in numerous gods. These people believe nature and god are synonymous and thus nature itself is the only thing deserving to be worshipped. Although, they may prefer to use the term revered instead of worshipped. The pantheist believes that God is not a unique being so much as a way of communing with natural and universal laws. More and more Christians are falling into this grouping and thus they do not believe in a personal savior or creator god. Instead, they are more likely to define god as a force, which permeates nature and the universe. A force that Jesus was “in tune” with and taught others to tap into.
It really does not matter is a person is a polytheist or a pantheist or even a neo-pagan (modern versions of polytheistic/pantheistic beliefs) the fact remains that these people are in error when they call themselves a Christian. They may include Jesus in their pantheon of gods but Jesus does not reside there. Jesus is a member of the Christian Godhead and He redeemed mankind from the guilt of sin. Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, as the Lord and Master of the Universe; thus, making it totally impossible to be a Christian and at the same time refuse to believe that there is but one God and one way to God. A pagan does not believe that there is but one God: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A pagan does not believe there is but one salvation and that it is by taking Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of your life. A pagan is not a Christian.
If you are someone who acknowledges the possibility of polytheism or pantheism you are a pagan, regardless of what you call yourself. But, you do not have to remain a pagan; it is very easy to become a Christian! Renounce your false Gods; turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and follow the teachings of Jesus.