Monotheism

[Jayhawker Soule]

I would like to state here that there are monotheistic sects in Hinduism as well , ... They have all been associated with much needed social reforms in Hinduism.

Thank you - seriously.

That is interesting information and a very interesting commentary. Do you see a relationship between their monotheistic perspective and their social justice orientation?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Fear made monotheism (worshiping one God must offend the other Gods so we must adhere to only the most powerful God and ignore the rest).

That is facile in the extreme. Can you offer any respected sociological work to support it? And how do you suppose fear fabricated Plato's Demiurge? And why was Rome relatively immune?

 

[Earthtank]

Well yeah, then to us it would make the most sense, but what makes sense to us depends on our limited knowledge at any given time, therefore what makes sense isn't the best method in determining the nature of god/s or how many there are, if there are any at all.

well if something does not make sense to me, i can't believe/subscribe to it. If some people can blindly follow or believe something without understanding it, that's their choice.

 

[Earthtank]

The concept of a "true god" is a non-starter in polytheism

Well yeah but its very definition of course

As for your car analogy, to the polytheist, there's still just one steering wheel

And who decides who steers the steering wheel if all the gods are true gods?

All of which play a role in determining that which is and all of which can be more or less deified depending on the culture

Who chose these roles? how did these roles even come about? What if someone does not like their role? Can a role be changed?

That mom is not your dad?

Slow down there buddy, you'll **** off the "progressives" with statements like that lol

To put it simply, polytheism is a basic recognition that different aspects of our world are

And i have no no problem with different aspects (obviously) being different. It seems our understanding or definition of polytheism is different. My understanding and definition is the belief or worship of more than one god.

 

[Quintessence]

And who decides who steers the steering wheel if all the gods are true gods?

The driver, obviously. Meanwhile, the driver didn't build the car. Or the road they are driving on. Nor does the driver dictate weather conditions for their trip. Or the actions of other drivers. Nor do they govern traffic laws. All things to their own domains of power and influence. That's how polytheism works. Honestly, it's not really complicated. It mirrors real life because the gods are basically aspects of real life, whether natural forces or social forces.

Who chose these roles? how did these roles even come about? What if someone does not like their role? Can a role be changed?

Roles just are - reality just is what it is. How humans choose to map that territory - including whether or not to understand aspects of our reality as worthy of worship (aka, deify something as gods) is up to humans. Polytheistic religions in general really aren't about providing dogmatic answers to the nature of the gods. It's more important to honor and respect them and develop your own understanding and relationships with them.

A recommended read on polytheism written by a contemporary Pagan for a contemporary audience: A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry Into Polytheism by John Michael Greer

I don't think the territory Greer treads in his book is particularly interesting, but for those who are so heavily steeped in monotheist theology that they have difficulty viewing things from other perspectives it is something that is good for that. It spends a good deal of time discussing various arguments against monotheist god-concepts and how they don't really apply to polytheism, for example.

There's also this one - A Million and One Gods: The Persistence of Polytheism by Page duBois - but it is somewhat less accessible than Greer's writing style so I have a hard time recommending it to anyone who isn't seriously interested in the study of comparative theology. It is a nice contrast to typical monotheist bias - which the article the OP linked to is an example of, honestly - but I recall it being somewhat dry reading.

 

[Samael_Khan]

well if something does not make sense to me, i can't believe/subscribe to it. If some people can blindly follow or believe something without understanding it, that's their choice.

So then do would you say that you fully understand God in all its aspects? Do you understand how God created everything? Because if you don't then you wouldn't believe that it created everything right?

 

[Jake1001]

Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean. Please explain?

Do you know what prostheletize means?

 

[ajay0]

Thank you - seriously.

Glad you liked it.

That is interesting information and a very interesting commentary. Do you see a relationship between their monotheistic perspective and their social justice orientation?

No one is a stranger, we all are children of one Father. ~ Dadi Prakashmani (Prajapita Brahmakumaris)

Monotheistic perspectives have been associated with the principles of equality and fraternity, and I would think the above saying of Dadi Prakashmani (the second administrative head of the Prajapita Brahmakumaris) says it all.

However, the theme of women's empowerment as spiritual and social leaders all over the world, as put forward by the monotheistic Prajapita Brahmakumaris seems to be a unique feature of it, distinct from other monotheistic religions of the past.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

How'd that work out for Zeus and his buddies? You can't have more than 1 "true God" otherwise there really is no "True God". It's like having 2 or more steering wheels in a car, who decided when its time to turn left or right? They both do? OK well you just run into a tree lol

Some vehicles do have two steering wheels:

If humans can figure out how to work together for something like that, I'm sure any gods worth their salt can figure it out, too.

 

[Earthtank]

Some vehicles do have two steering wheels:

If humans can figure out how to work together for something like that, I'm sure any gods worth their salt can figure it out, too.

of course leave it to an atheist to choose the most extreme of examples and use that as a standard lol

 

[Earthtank]

So then do would you say that you fully understand God in all its aspects?

Not fully but enough to believe that there is a "God" or some sort of "higher power". I am a deist and cannot rationally nor logically think or believe everything is just "random"

Because if you don't then you wouldn't believe that it created everything right?

False, i do not need to understand 100% of everything to believe something is true. I do not fully and 100% understand how COVID is spread and kills people that does NOT mean i won't wear a mask or take my precautions. I know enough about COVID to "believe in it" and base my actions off that "belief"

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

of course leave it to an atheist to choose the most extreme of examples and use that as a standard lol

Whatever you need to tell yourself to maintain your worldview.

 

[1213]

Do you know what prostheletize means?

I have to admit that I am not sure what you mean with that word. I didn’t find any reasonable translation for that. Do you mean proselytize? If so, I don’t think I am doing that and I would like to know why you think so?

 

[Samael_Khan]

Not fully but enough to believe that there is a "God" or some sort of "higher power". I am a deist and cannot rationally nor logically think or believe everything is just "random"

Why would you to a conclusion on something that nobody can examine?

False, i do not need to understand 100% of everything to believe something is true. I do not fully and 100% understand how COVID is spread and kills people that does NOT mean i won't wear a mask or take my precautions. I know enough about COVID to "believe in it" and base my actions off that "belief"

With Covid there are professionals who examine COVID directly and we can actually learn about it ourselves through articles. We know that viruses exist as we see its effects and we can examine how our responses to it affect our lives.

With creation, it isn't only that we do not know how it happened 100%. We have never seen it happen and therefore we cannot know how it happened. We do not see any link between the materials in this reality and any link to any god.

I also don't see how saying that there is one god is the most logical position vs any other position such as polytheism, as all of them are conjecture and all have the equal possibility of being true since God defies logic.

 

[Earthtank]

We have never seen it happen

You've never seen a female give birth?

therefore we cannot know how it happened

You never had the "talk" with your parents? ever heard of sex?

We do not see any link between the materials in this reality and any link to any god.

Whether you want to call it god or something else does not matter to me but, for sake on continuity i will use the word god. Not seeing 'any link to any god" is subjective based off the tools you use however the very first question you need to ask yourself is where did this reality come from? Then, worry about everything else. While many will say we don't know, i prefer to use logic and rational and at the very least conclude, all this could not and absolutely did not come from nothing. Since we know for a fact that nothing can't "create" something.

 

[Quintessence]

Some vehicles do have two steering wheels:

If humans can figure out how to work together for something like that, I'm sure any gods worth their salt can figure it out, too.

Or they don't figure it out and conflict with each other - polytheist theology reflects the dynamics of cooperation and competition that are present within our world. That's part of why polytheist theology doesn't have the "problem of evil" that monotheist theology often does.

But lol for two steering wheels being a thing. I guess come to think of it, when I was doing driver's ed the car had two sets of brakes, which wasn't that much different.

 

[Samael_Khan]

You've never seen a female give birth?



You never had the "talk" with your parents? ever heard of sex?

Ummm.... you do realise what sex is right? It takes TWO to tango. So are you saying now that there is at least two gods in existence? One which is male and the other female?

Whether you want to call it god or something else does not matter to me but, for sake on continuity i will use the word god. Not seeing 'any link to any god" is subjective based off the tools you use however the very first question you need to ask yourself is where did this reality come from? Then, worry about everything else. While many will say we don't know, i prefer to use logic and rational and at the very least conclude, all this could not and absolutely did not come from nothing. Since we know for a fact that nothing can't "create" something.

OK. We also know that everything must have a beginning. So would "god" then have a beginning? Also, since nothing can't create something, and everything is made out of something that came before, would that mean that pantheism is then the most logical conclusion since god had to make everything out of something and therefore, if it was alone in existence, it had to make everything out of itself?

Also, why one god when we have real world precedent of humans making cohesive worlds in video games, when up to hundreds of people create these worlds?

 

[Jake1001]

I have to admit that I am not sure what you mean with that word. I didn’t find any reasonable translation for that. Do you mean proselytize? If so, I don’t think I am doing that and I would like to know why you think so?

Because you are quoting biblical text inappropriately.

 

[1213]

Because you are quoting biblical text inappropriately.

Please explain why do you think so?