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Author:
Posted: Sep. 8, 2002
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Vox Q Stats
Times Viewed: 32,767
Reponses: 104
Lurker/Post Ratio: 315 to 1
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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?
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| Reponses: There are 104 responses posted to this question. |
Reverse Sort |
| `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.
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| 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.
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| Monotheist | Oct 10th. at 7:02:15 pm EDT |
| Starfish (Muskegon, MI) | Age: 39 - Email |
I believe in One god with many personalities. Each giving me what I need, when I need it.
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| 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. :)
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| 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.
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| 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 |
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. Link to More info related to this post -- HERE
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| 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.... Link to More info related to this post -- HERE
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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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| Henotheistic, Or Maybe Polytheist | Oct 11th. at 10:58:30 am EDT |
| Silverlotus (London, Ontario, Canada) | Age: 25 - Email |
Based on the definition for henotheism (the worship of one god but recognizing the existence of other gods), I think that title best fits me. However, if you wanted to get particularly technical, I worship two deities and recognize others. That may make me polytheistic. I guess it’s a matter of semantics. I don’t think the title is what is important though, just that you believe in something that is good for your spirit.
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| Polytheist : Blessed Be The Goddess,3-Blessed Be The God,3-- | Oct 11th. at 12:32:06 pm EDT |
| LightNord (Long Island,NY) | Age: 47 - Email |
For me,I can relate to a Goddess and God,better than a "ALL"or "THE ONE".Not to say that there isnt a a central"power",but that power expresses its self in the various aspects in different cultures. To have a Goddess birth the whole universe, and all things in it makes more sence to me than a "MALE" or "ALL MALE" trinity. Goddess and God bless you, LightNord
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