• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Re: What use does an atheist have for deities?

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
From another thread, where I unfortunately can not post:
I’m confused. What use does an atheist have with deities?

Deities (in this case, the Hindu Devas) are powerful symbols of certain ideals or doctrines.

It is not only possible for an atheist to make constructive use of them (at least if the misconception that we actually believe in their literal existence as deities proper can be avoided), it is in my opinion the proper way of using deity-concepts, even for theists.

I truly wonder if early theists ever expected people to go to the lengths that some modern theists go.
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
In nontheistic paradigms, archetypical unconscious content that comes into consciousness can be mistaken as "other." (See the Tibetan Book of the Dead for more.)
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
It's a symbol that represents Christ and his values, which we try to live by as best we can. But the symbol itself has no power or is to be worshipped in and of itself.

Hopefully that makes sense.

I wonder if the noose would have became such a symbol had Jesus been hanged rather than crucified. Still, odd to me that an instrument of torture and death came to symbolize what it has. I don't know if Jesus would be very comfortable around such imagery upon his return.
 

crossfire

LHP Mercuræn Feminist Heretic ☿
Premium Member
It's a symbol that represents Christ and his values, which we try to live by as best we can. But the symbol itself has no power or is to be worshipped in and of itself.

Hopefully that makes sense.
OK, so like the buddhist Dharmachakra, then?
1200px-Dharma_Wheel.svg.png
 
Top