Who turned the Christian religion into polytheism, and when?

Answer 1

A lot of it came from some convoluted writings of Augustine.

Pretty ironic, really, considering that Judaism started off polytheistic, and the breakaway branch that turned into Christianity eventually reverted to it.

Everything goes full circle I suppose.

Answer 2

I think the Roman Catholic Church, in the person of "Saint" Augustine, started the Holy Trinity "mystery." Perhaps there are a few Protestant denominations who also subscribe to the "three persons in one God" concept, but I don't know and don't care which ones.

As a former Catholic, I always found this so-called Holy Trinity concept ridiculous. Ask a Catholic priest today to explain it in a way that's halfway understandable, and he'll probably tell you it's a "mystery" and therefore unexplainable.

Answer 3

I assume you are referring to the Trinity: We can not FULLY understand the Trinity, but the scripures are pretty plain that God IS Trinity:

Jesus tells his apostles to baptize "in the name [notice, singular, not plural] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). This is a proof-text: three distinct Persons united in the one divine name. In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Paul writes, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." We see this same unity of divine Persons in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, Ephesians 4:4–6, and 1 Peter 1:2–3.

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is God (cf. John 8:58, 10:38, 14:10; Col. 2:9). It also clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is God (cf. Acts 5:3–4, 28:25–28; 1 Cor. 2:10–13). Everyone agrees the Father is God. Yet there is only one God (Mark 12:29, 1 Cor. 8:4–6, Jas. 2:19). How can we hold all four truths except to say all three are One God?

And yes, Jesus DID say he was God. In John 8:58, when quizzed about how he has special knowledge of Abraham, Jesus replies, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am"—invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God—"I Am" (Ex. 3:14). His audience understood exactly what he was claiming about himself. "So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple" (John 8:59).

Also significant are passages that apply the title "the First and the Last" to Jesus. This is one of the Old Testament titles of Yahweh: "Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of armies: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no god’" (Is. 44:6; cf. 41:4, 48:12).

Answer 4

Christianity is not a religion.
Just because uninformed people label it one does not make it one.

The Trinity is very easy to understand. ONE God, comprised of three distinct persons - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. All three persons reveal the totality of God, but there is ONLY One God. The bible teaches that The Father speaks, He can be offended, He can feel, He can hear. These are all obvious indications that The Father is not a force, but a person. The Son came to earth as a human baby, grew into manhood and did all of the things we do, yet He was without Sin. Jesus is obviously a person. The Bible describes The Holy Spirit with the same personal qualities as The Father and The Son - He can be offended, He can feel, He can hear, He can speak. The Holy Spirit is obviously not a mere force or entity either, for mere forces and entities cannot do these things.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three distinct persons, yet ONE God.

You may understand IF you are willing.

Answer 5

at the beginning: if Jesus really did refer to dad as god, and Jesus' followers called him god, too, then you have at least two gods at the outset. Add in Mary, the holy ghost, various saints, and the bible itself, and you have a pantheon. Borrow from Egypt, Mithreanism, European paganism and you've got the ultimate casserole of organized religion.