musicpolytheism without henotheism. Second, to restrict henotheist variants to
only particular divine beings is unjustified, because it is possible to dis-
cover the diffusion of numerous deities and prominent regional gods.
Third, henotheism cannot grasp the complex connections related to inclu-
sive ways of devotion between god and believer. Michaels substitutes the
word “equitheism” for Müller’s term henotheism. Occasionally, Michaels
calls equitheism “homotheism.” What he means is that either term denotes
the idea of god as well as the fundamental process of identification.Further reading: Michaels (2004); Müller (1895–1898); Peters (2003)MUSIC
Within the context of time, music is the sound that expresses ideas and
emotions created by instruments in rhythmical, melodious, and harmoni-
ous ways. The tempo for indigenous dances is maintained by music, the
Christian mass is enhanced by music, and devotional emotions of Hindus
are evoked by music. Muslims and Buddhist chant scripture, whereas
Muslim Sufis use music to dance themselves into trance states. Some
religious traditions do not place much value on music or even prohibit it
for various reasons. Besides its ability to entertain, music can evoke pow-
erful emotions, alter the moods of humans, and enable participants to
praise and worship God. Music binds together musicians and listeners,
and it is often integrated with dance. Religious music possesses the abil-
ity to transport listeners to a higher level of existence, and it enables them
to communicate with higher beings.
From the time period of the early church, Christians are encouraged to
sing hymns, psalms, and holy songs (Col. 3.16; Eph. 5.19). Several
Christians recognize the salvific power of music. Boethius (c. 489–c. 524
ce), a Roman philosopher, statesman, and martyr for his Christian faith,
writes On Music of which only the final part survives. In this work, he
differentiates three kinds of music: that of the spheres (musica mundane),
music reflecting the harmony of soul and body (musica humana), and
music related to human voices or instruments (musica intrumentorum). A
book with the same title as that of Boethius is composed by Augustine
(354–430), a bishop of North Africa, in which he calls attention to the
music of the soul in addition to cosmic and divine harmonies.
Within various traditions of the Christian church, plainchant (plain
song), a monophonic and free rhythmic hymn, develops and becomes