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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,125,745 |
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 |
| 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 |
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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 |
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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 |
| Henotheistic, Or Maybe Polytheist | Oct 11th. at 10:58:30 am EDT |
| Silverlotus (London, Ontario, Canada) | Age: 25 - Email |
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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. |
| 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 |
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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 |
| Polytheistic | Oct 11th. at 3:25:38 pm EDT |
| Heather (Marin County, CA) | Age: 27 - Email |
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I am definitly a polytheist, at least in my definition. I believe that everyone has the right to follow their own path. Personally, I follow a path of Celtic based spirituality and Goddess worship. I believe that the many Gods and Goddesses are not neccesarily seperate entities, but represent many different aspects of One. I focus mostly on a few well chosen female deities that help guide me through different times, though I do acknowledge the masculine as their is balance in everything. |
| Well..... | Oct 11th. at 3:40:10 pm EDT |
| Laura P. (Durham, NC) | Age: 16 - Email |
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I'm sorta a dualist/monotheist...I believe in one Diety that is ineffable, so it is easier for people to split It up. What I do is split It into Masculine and Femanine aspects (The God and Goddess, or Lord and Lady, if you will), but that's not to say that those who only see It as a God or a Goddess are wrong. The classic example of the multi-faceted diamond or gem is my philosophy: there is only one diamond/gem, and some see only one facet, some see many many facets, and some see only two facets (not meaning that the monotheists are more closed minded, or that the pantheists are more correct in their vision of Deity). |
| ONE WITH MANY | Oct 11th. at 4:48:06 pm EDT |
| MIKE MOONEY (AKRON,OHIO) | Age: 52 - Email |
|
CREATIVE SPIRIT THAT SHOWS HIMSELF/HERSELF IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. THESE WAYS ARE AS MANY AS WE ARE.IT IS THREW MY REALATIONSHIP WITH ALL THINGS THAT I EXPERIENCE THIS CREATIVE SPIRIT.THE QUESTION IS AM I WILLING AND OPEN TO ALL WAYS OF THIS PROCESS OR DO I CHOOSE TO STAY IN MY WORLD OF ILLUSION,WHERE AM SAFE AND SECURE,IN MY MIND ONLY.OR AM I OPEN AND ABLE TO TAKE RISK FOR THE SAKE OF GROWTH AND THE FACT THAT I MAYNOT BE THE ALL KNOWING THAT I SOMETIMES BELIEVE.WHEN I FEEL SPIRIT NOT THINK SPIRIT IS WHEN I KNOW SPIRIT. |
| All Of The Above | Oct 12th. at 12:47:13 am EDT |
| David (NE Wisconsin) | Age: 18 - Email |
|
I think monotheism, polytheism, and pantheism are all true. I think there's a level of being where gods are separate, distinct beings but there's a level where absolutely everything is One. At one level there is the Lord and the Lady, the interaction of all things and the continual creation. At another level there's a wise pantheon of gods, sometimes with a supreme Lord and Lady residing in them, sometimes not. To me its not always "all gods are one god" and "all goddesses are one goddess". There's a great number of deities that don't fit into the Wiccan idea of genderisms or sometimes weren't created with the idea of gender in mind at all. A goddess may rule a certain function just because the people felt like having a goddess for it. It's more like "most goddesses are one Goddess, some gods are one God, those two are one and the rest just sort of mix in" That's why you have to approach each system with its interlocking qualities in mind. I don't know if I'm a diehard polytheist per se. To me everything came from one point, i.e. the universe coming from a single ball of gas, and everything retains its unity even though its split up. I suppose it all is how you're looking at it. |
| Hmmm..... | Oct 12th. at 2:33:22 am EDT |
| Elamberel (Sydney, Australia) | Age: 26 - Email |
|
I'm a pantheist. I hold everything to be sacred. At times I veer towards polytheism. I think that our perceptions are shaped to survive in this world with hints of others. We won't trully understand it in our lifetimes. |
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