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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,122,087 |
Question of the Week: 80 - 10/6/2002 Polytheist, Monotheist, Dualist or Other? Are you a die-hard Polytheist who believes that the many Gods/Goddesses are distinct and individual entities? Are you a Pagan Monotheist? Pantheist? Do you believe that “All Gods/Goddesses are One God/Goddess”? Does the term ‘Lord and Lady’ represent a specific Lord and/or Lady to you or is it a term used most often to simply denote the concept of a male and/or a female deity? Do you think that all of these terms are interchangeable? Can you see where and when the need to define what YOU mean by ‘Gods/Goddesses’ might be necessary? What do you think about ‘Choose one from column A and one from Column B’ pantheon building? |
| Reponses: There are 104 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| Correllian Nativist Tradition Of Wicca | Oct 10th. at 7:29:01 am EDT |
| Rev. Wendy Eversen (Whyalla, South Australia, Australia) | Age: 34 - Email - Web |
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As there are many different pagan origins/paths here in Australia which include some of the most familiar, Dianic, Hermetic, Druidism, Shamanism, etc. There is a new wave slowly growing in Australia. The Correllian Nativist Tradition of Wicca. Its roots are from America, but gradually spreading all over the world, with many new branches emerging, it is expected that this path will be very popular in years to come. I am a little biased as I am a ordained member of the Correllian Clergy, and also a Correllian Mentor, and I see the statistics of just how fast this new path is growing here in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. The Correllian Tradition is a syncretic and highly philosophical Tradition of Wicca, which stresses the inherent unity of all Pagan traditions and the synchronicity of all spiritual paths. We believe that Deity is in all things, therefore all paths can lead to Deity. The Correllian Tradition is based around the idea that inner truth is universal in nature, but is expressed through many outer forms. Correllianism teaches that Deity comes to the person in the way that is best for that person, and which is unique to them. Correllians believe that all things which live have a spirit, just as we humans do, and that all things which exist live. We believe in the concept of a living, spiritually sentient Earth, of which all of the Earth's eco-systems and creatures are components. We believe in the concept of a living, spiritually sentient galaxy, of which the Earth and other planets and stars are components. And the concept of a living, spiritually sentient Universe, of which all galaxies are components. In short that all of existence is living, and spiritually sentient, with the souls evolving from sub-atomic particles to galaxies and beyond, with our present human form as one step in this chain. Oh! And definitely Polytheist... |
| The One And The Many | Oct 10th. at 8:14:20 am EDT |
| Auralia L.V.X Interna (Sweden) | Age: 28 - Email |
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It is my belief that Godforms are created by a coalition between humanity and the invisible forces of nature. Nature provides the force...a current of power with a particular energetic signature; humanity creates the form...an anthropomorphized vessel to contain and embody said force. Thus we comprehend the unnameable. All things emanate from the divine source, but all are holy in their infinite variation. As above, so below. We are all Magicians. We have the creative impulse, be it known or unknown. We empower the gods with adoration and devotion. We forge connections. I have been blessed by many Gods and Goddesses...Isis the Mighty Mother, Queen of Heaven...Nepthys, Her Dark Sister...Hermes Trismegistus, Thrice Great Lord of Magick...Aprodite, Lady of Universal Beauty...Hecate, Mother of Witches...Maat, Lady of Balance and Adjustment...Kwan Yin (Avalokiteshvara)...Divine Bodihsattva and Lady of Infinite Compassion. I hope to be blessed by many more... "The One is as adorable to the Many as the One is to the Many. This is the Love of These; creation-parturition is the Bliss of the One; coition-dissolution is the Bliss of the Many. The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss. Naught is Beyond Bliss." |
| `Maun Polytheism! | Oct 10th. at 10:40:08 am EDT |
| Neil Rhind (Edinburgh) | Age: 21 - Email |
|
Hmmm... The question of poly Vs. Mono theism basically rests on what constitutes a Diety (a "the"?) . I dont give a name, or any defining characteristics to whatever ultimate force is there, and approach it only through other forms - nbut many of them. If theres an unformed force counts as a worshipped diety, then Im monotheistic. But that might get me confused with people who deny all other forms - so I generally say I`m poly. This allows me to hold that god a is like this, Goddess b is like that etc. when these traits might contradict each other, because I use them as seperate entities which are both part of the divine. Basically, I see them all as one when I think about them, but as seperate when I work with them. Thats the difference between theology and religionh. |
| Personally... | Oct 10th. at 6:31:00 pm EDT |
| Morgan Anara (bennington,vt) | Age: 14 - Email |
|
I think the best way to define my belief is like a jawbreaker. There's LOTS of candy on the outside, but on the inside, there's a softer, easier to chew candy. :) you can tell i'm a teenager. I'm comparing religion to food. But really, I think it isn't so simple as there being a 'god' or 'goddess', or many gods at once. I think there is one Being, but since one Being is hard to grasp, the Being wears many faces and outfits, like one big masquerade party. sometimes the Being is male, sometimes female. Sometimes the Being identifies with the Egyptians, other times the Greeks. Do you see what I'm saying? The Being can belong to everybody, but sometimes the nongenderspecific Being is wearing a different costume when it appears to different people(s). Yes, I will call upon a specific god or goddess in ritual based on which is needed, i suppose( I did NOT mean to make God and Goddess sound like tools in a big metaphysical toolbox... sorry). But I believe that behind the cloaks of gender and appearance, there is one Being whom we all serve in many ways. blessed be, all. |
| Monotheist | Oct 10th. at 7:02:15 pm EDT |
| Starfish (Muskegon, MI) | Age: 39 - Email |
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I believe in One god with many personalities. Each giving me what I need, when I need it. |
| Monotheist | Oct 10th. at 7:44:29 pm EDT |
| Starfish (muskegon, Mi) | Age: 39 - Email |
|
I'm not very good at postings, I don't do this very often. I usually stay silent and just read the what everyone person posts. I do admit to making a mistake in my post. I do believe in one being, but i wrote the word god instead. I've been studying for 15 years, you would think i would know better note to self: no more posts. :) |
| Wicca | Oct 10th. at 9:11:55 pm EDT |
| Rowan (Washington) | Age: 16 - Email |
|
I am polytheist who recognizes the Great Goddess in all her forms and the Great God in all of his forms. I also recognizes dieties from Ancient Greece and Wales, such a Rhiannon, Cerridwen, Artemis and Apollo. |
| I'm A Big, Phat Pantheist! | Oct 10th. at 9:27:30 pm EDT |
| David Nelson (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) | Age: 41 - Email - Web |
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Pantheist here, please, with attention to Gaianism, Paganism and Taoism. From the Greek: "pan" meaning "all," and "theos" meaning divine or "sacred." While not exclusively non-deist (mono, dual, poly or otherwise), most Pantheists are agnostic or atheist. |
| I'm A Big, Phat Pantheist, Redux | Oct 10th. at 9:32:55 pm EDT |
| David Nelson (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) | Age: 41 - Email - Web |
|
Wouldn't you know it? My link was all wrong. It's abit Freudian to mix up "Pagan" with "Pantheist," huh? I've corrected this one.... |
| Source Of Deity: Spirit Through The Minds & Hearts Of Humans | Oct 10th. at 11:55:26 pm EDT |
| Emerald Moonfire (Pittsburgh, PA) | Age: 28 - Email |
|
I believe in one Universal Life Force, also known as "Spirit," "The All," or "The Divine". This is the manifestation of Life itself: the force that unites all beings. I believe that Spirit is made up of two contrasting halves, the male half and the female half. I believe that the human mind understands these two halves of the "force" as _The_ God and _The_ Goddess; The Lord and the Lady. But I do believe in individual gods and goddesses. I believe that the individual gods and goddesses have been "created" by the minds of men and women. Certain aspects of the "Life Force" have been understood in the same way by a group of people, and those understandings crystallized into a specific gods and goddesses. Those gods and goddesses were given a visual form, often anthropomorphic but sometimes seen as an animal, a river or other "piece of nature". These gods and goddesses became real to the people who "created" them. But since they were inspired by some aspect of Spirit, I believe that all gods and goddesses derive their energy from that Spirit; the gods from the male half and the goddesses from the female half. These gods and goddesses have become real since humans gave them form and Spirit (the Life Force) gives them power. This is the only explanation that makes sense to me, since I have had experiences with Spirit, The God, The Goddess, and individual deities. These experiences have been intensely vivid and real--I have felt their power and witnessed their presence. I have felt The Goddess as well as specific goddesses speaking through me in Drawing Down the Moon, and each of those energies felt quite distinct yet somehow the same. I have always held that there is more than one path to the truth, and this explanation of the Divine allows me to believe that other religions are just as legitimate as my own, and that other people's understandings of The Divine are also just as valid. Working with specific gods and goddesses and the specific symbols attached to The God and The Goddess (the Sun, the Moon, etc.) gives us a common point of reference when working in a group. We may each experience Aphrodite, Pan or The Earth Mother differently, but we all have a shared understanding of the essence of that deity. |
| Whoa Confusing But ..... | Oct 11th. at 2:12:30 am EDT |
| Joshua (In the other kansas) | Age: 14 - Email |
|
Okay im obivously 14 (look up) but I think I'm polythestic but of course just got out of a WEIRD religous crisis (okay whatever deity/hero/mythical idea made up puberty and the confusing voices in my head is dead when i find them :-D) but now that i think about it, im defeniotly poly. I mean it just makes more sense to me but of course knowing the glands (which by the way one of them is swollen ::takes scapule and cuts the gland behind his ear out::) and everything else Ill find something that makes me think other way. But since ive been born, and htrough christianity, poly is more "Relistic" to me, but im not going to close or deny any possibilty that im wrong. -Josh, G'day |
| Poly | Oct 11th. at 10:23:14 am EDT |
| Maegan (Tulsa Ok) | Age: 30 - Email |
|
I would have to say that I am polytheistic. I follow a Celtic path. There are over 20 pan-Celtic dieties, and many more local ones. I know I can talk to who ever is best qualified to help with a problem. Maegan Truth Honor Strength |
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