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Medium Polytheism

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
So I saw a thread in the Hinduism DIR talking about hard and soft polytheism, and it got me thinking, do I consider myself a hard or soft polytheist. And I have come to the conclusion that I am a medium polytheist.

I consider myself Medium, because, while I see the deities as separate entities -- Zeus, Tyr, and Dagda are not the same God. I do feel that all the deities emanate from a universal source or energy, but that this source in itself is not "God".

Are there any other self proclaimed medium polytheists out there? Or am I the oddball :p.
 

StarryNightshade

Spiritually confused Jew
Premium Member
In many ways, I consider myself to be "medium" in my "polytheism" (although it is often highly debated that Hinduism is inherently polytheistic).
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
So I saw a thread in the Hinduism DIR talking about hard and soft polytheism, and it got me thinking, do I consider myself a hard or soft polytheist. And I have come to the conclusion that I am a medium polytheist.

I consider myself Medium, because, while I see the deities as separate entities -- Zeus, Tyr, and Dagda are not the same God. I do feel that all the deities emanate from a universal source or energy, but that this source in itself is not "God".

Are there any other self proclaimed medium polytheists out there? Or am I the oddball :p.

Stalker! :eek:

:D

I hear you. I think I am a medium or semi-firm polytheist (my brain is Swiss cheese this week , after all :(). I'm of the "different cultural lenses" school of thought to an extent. That is I think Thor, Perkunas, Zeus, Indra, being Indo-European, are the same deity seen by the four different cultures. But I think the Egyptian Goddess Nut, for example is yet another individual sky deity unrelated to the IE boys. I think there are many gods and goddesses who perform similar functions throughout the universe, because as far as thist polytheist is concerned, none are omnipotent, omnipresent nor omiscient.

Lakshmi is not Freyr though they both bring wealth; Saraswati is not Bragi is not Odin, though they three are all deities of poetry, learning, the arts. I think there are exceptions, and gods who oversee different areas can easily be different beings. Jord may very well be Bhudevi (Earth in Hinduism).

Something that I've gone back to recently is the idea of a deistic God. Something had to kick start the universe, something had to set Muspelheim and Niflheim on a collision course and start the process of creation. I think it then turned everything over to the beings who were created out that. It's really no different, imo, than the Big Bang. So only in that respect are they (and we) manifestations of that "God".
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I think that in the discussion of polytheism, and in theism in general, we need to develop a better vocabulary. What you describe yourself as already has a better and more accurate label that you perhaps aren't aware of: monistic polytheism (or polytheistic monism if you prefer). I think it's very important that we keep the "how many are the gods" question separate from "what's the underlying substance(s) of reality." They're not the same, and a person can answer them differently. I'm a substance pluralist, and a polytheist, but you can easily be a substance monist or substance dualist and a polytheist as well.

You can read a decent essay about polytheistic monism
here. I'm not sure I agree with the author, but I think it will help clarify the idea of polytheistic monism for you guys.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Stalker! :eek:

:D

I hear you. I think I am a medium or semi-firm polytheist (my brain is Swiss cheese this week , after all :(). I'm of the "different cultural lenses" school of thought to an extent. That is I think Thor, Perkunas, Zeus, Indra, being Indo-European, are the same deity seen by the four different cultures. But I think the Egyptian Goddess Nut, for example is yet another individual sky deity unrelated to the IE boys. I think there are many gods and goddesses who perform similar functions throughout the universe, because as far as thist polytheist is concerned, none are omnipotent, omnipresent nor omiscient.

Lakshmi is not Freyr though they both bring wealth; Saraswati is not Bragi is not Odin, though they three are all deities of poetry, learning, the arts. I think there are exceptions, and gods who oversee different areas can easily be different beings. Jord may very well be Bhudevi (Earth in Hinduism).

Something that I've gone back to recently is the idea of a deistic God. Something had to kick start the universe, something had to set Muspelheim and Niflheim on a collision course and start the process of creation. I think it then turned everything over to the beings who were created out that. It's really no different, imo, than the Big Bang. So only in that respect are they (and we) manifestations of that "God".

I only stalk you a little bit Thorbjorn :p.

I do agree that there may be some deity overlap, as in some deities may be the same, but seen with a different cultural lens, but I would contest and say that it isn't the norm.

I use a Druidic term in relation to the start of the universe. The Big Bang was set in motion by the energy of Nwyfre (Welsh for air, translates to soul/breath/life), it is also the energy in which the Gods are manifested.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I have to agree it's not the norm. As I'm learning more about Paganism, Heathenism, polytheism and different pantheons, I can see there is less overlap and correspondence than one would think. Most do have different personalities, different likes and dislikes and different ways of being worshiped. Sure, I can still work with Saraswati for help with my music (speaking of music, I definitely have to give her a call!) but I would not make offerings to her as I do to the Aesir, nor would I enshrine her with them. They are diametrically opposite in personalities, to say the least. And then there is the cultural context, as was discussed in the 'Hindu Gods in Wicca' thread some time ago in the Hinduism DIR.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
I think that in the discussion of polytheism, and in theism in general, we need to develop a better vocabulary. What you describe yourself as already has a better and more accurate label that you perhaps aren't aware of: monistic polytheism (or polytheistic monism if you prefer). I think it's very important that we keep the "how many are the gods" question separate from "what's the underlying substance(s) of reality." They're not the same, and a person can answer them differently. I'm a substance pluralist, and a polytheist, but you can easily be a substance monist or substance dualist and a polytheist as well.

You can read a decent essay about polytheistic monism
here. I'm not sure I agree with the author, but I think it will help clarify the idea of polytheistic monism for you guys.

Polytheistic Monism does seem to be pretty spot on to what I wrote about. I read the essay and agree with it for the most part, but I will have to do a little more digging and reading on the subject matter.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
- also called henotheism ... Henotheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

God = monotheism
Gods = polytheism
God and gods = henotheism

Henotheism does not apply to me personally because I do not believe that the source is God. For example, you can have one "energy" in your house (Electricity), but have multiple items plugged in to that power source deriving life from it (appliances). Electricity doesn't do anything by itself (raw power), but it is necessary for the appliances to work. In the sense that Nwyfre isn't God, but it is what the Gods are made of/derived from.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Yes, the Hammer, I noticed that. Depends on your definition of God. Myself (theist) and an atheistic member of the Hindu DIR both believe in Brahman, but whether of not it is God is where we differ. So in my view, it's the same thing ... this energy. I call it God. You don't. In several branches of Hinduism, God can be quite formless, or just the energy. It's just all semantics. Electricity is a great analogy too.
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Polytheistic Monism does seem to be pretty spot on to what I wrote about. I read the essay and agree with it for the most part, but I will have to do a little more digging and reading on the subject matter.

It may be tricky to find more about that, specifically. You will probably want to look at monism separately as a philosophy, as there is very little discussion of polytheistic theology in Western culture. This was the first essay I'd read on polytheistic monism, and the vocabulary just made sense to me as a way of classifying.
 
I consider myself Medium, because, while I see the deities as separate entities -- Zeus, Tyr, and Dagda are not the same God. I do feel that all the deities emanate from a universal source or energy, but that this source in itself is not "God".
This is a huge problem, how can something who is not God, create God. This would mean that God is just another being within time space and matter. Anything or anyone who is not eternal with no beginning, or has supreme power or ability to fully engage or act and have relationship with people and things is not God. Jesus Christ is God.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
This is a huge problem, how can something who is not God, create God. This would mean that God is just another being within time space and matter. Anything or anyone who is not eternal with no beginning, or has supreme power or ability to fully engage or act and have relationship with people and things is not God. Jesus Christ is God.

I appreciate your opinion, but I disagree with you. Jesus is just another man. A good man, but a man nonetheless.

Edit: Also, this thread is 7 years old and my opinion on things have changed, I consider myself a full polytheist these days.
 
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