It could be a theological question, a cultural misunderstanding, or a common conception that you're not sure is wrong or right.
And hopefully the polytheists and neopagans here can help answer any issues or clear up any confusion you may have.
Before Christianity became a big concept, most countries seemed to have multiple gods. However after the Romans adopted Christianity as their religion, and imposed it in many more countries, a lot of monotheistic religions have developed. And now the biggest religions are monotheistic. What is the reason for this change in ideology?
I'm neutral on this topic, but I've always thought that the Judeo-Islamic assertion that the Trinity is a from of Polytheism to be extremely weird, and rather groundless. Most Christians don't claim to be Polytheists and why would anyone even have to right to reexamine and determine that for them?!
(Also posted on r/pagan)
Hi there!
I work with deities and with that comes trying to find words for my experiences with them. In the pagan community there is Hard Polytheism and Soft Polytheism, but is there a middle area in between? I find my beliefs when it comes to deities fall not exactly in the hard area but not in the softer area either. Obviously, this is all going to be UPG.
If I had to "choose a side", I would probably lean to Soft Polytheism. I don't believe that deities are literal beings that roam other realms, instead, I see them as archetypes of energy that have been given form, shape, names, associations, etc based on what energy "they hold"/represent and what culture they showed themselves in.
For example, I work with Thor. To me, Thor isn't a literal redhead who wields a giant hammer and actually lives in Asgard. Instead, Thor to me is an archetype of several different energies-- most popularly storms and protection-- that has been given form based on the Norse cultural context he was a part of. Thor speaks to me through the context of his myths as he has influenced them throughout time, but I don't see his myths as literal, but instead stories he inspired. Because of him being the energy of storms, that means in some respect every storm is him literally. Same logic to every other deity:
- Apollo is the god of the sun because he is the archetype of energy that rules over and is the sun, therefore the sun in some respect is him
- Athena is the goddess of wisdom because she is the archetype of wisdom, therefore all knowledge in some way is her literally
- Hades is the god of death (oversimplified, I know) because he is the energy of death, therefore all things that are dying or dead are in some ways are him literally
- etc etc
However, I recognize the archetype of Thor's energy to have originated from a greater masculine energy. This is where my troubles with Hard vs Soft Polytheism come into play. While Thor is his own energy with complete control over his own thoughts, emotions, actions, etc (to put it in human terms), I recognize that Thor didn't pop into existence on his own, but instead "gained sentience" through a greater "Lord" and became more or less an individual of his own archetype.
As I also recognize deities to be archetypes in energy, I also recognize that deities that share the same archetypes are more closely connected. Going back to Thor, while he is his own energy, I see him being closely connected to Zeus through
... keep reading on reddit β‘I just started to belong to polytheism instead of monotheism and I'm not sure where to start. I do not want to offend anyone so I am open to suggestions on what I could start with. Any help is welcomed and I'm happy I'm now in a community that aligns with me.
Vedas and Upanishads (they are some Hindu scriptures) say that theistic Hinduism only has one Divinity. All the different forms of Divinity are just different ways of understanding The One.
Why do people think Hinduism is polytheistic? It isnβt. Can anyone come up with any arguments to suggest that it is?
I've never really understood why people become polytheists, Satanists, heathens, etc. So, if you don't mind, what was the reason you converted (if you converted to one of these groups)? I'm just curious, no ill will here :)
I'm looking for some good arguments to use when speaking with polytheists. Can anyone help me out? (Bonus points for arguments against pantheism and/or panentheism.)
Thanks!
After general society, warfare, and economy, people have been asking for religion. So here we go! Right at the start, I'd like to recommend Bret Devereaux's "Practical Polytheism" series on his blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. That series inspired a lot of this, though I've added some insights and resources as well.
Alrighty, the usual conditions: I'll by trying to hold to things that are true across most premodern civilizations, so there's a lot of variation to account for. Fantasy magic and cosmology changes a lot, though less than you'd expect for this topic. The usual "most fantasy is early modern" also affects less here. Finally, if my unfortunate European- and Mediterranean-heavy education shows here, please let me know and point me to places to learn.
In addition, while this post focuses on polytheistic religions, almost all the points can apply to monotheistic systems as well. It could be argued that Medieval Catholicism followed most of the following points except for two main exceptions: other gods definitely didn't exist, and God is morally right. This'll make more sense once you read the rest of the article.
I've realized that these posts are too long for many people to read through, so I'm going to add a brief summary here:
- Religion was less about beliefs and morals and more about achieving real benefits through rituals; deities and myths were mostly explanations on why rituals worked.
- Think pantheons, not individual gods; your characters need someone to turn to for every situation. You can use existing pantheons to make sure you've got everything covered. Also, alignments don't matter; people can't afford to offend a god, no matter how much they disagree with what the god says, does, or wants.
- For ideas, you can use the Thompson Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; A0-A599 are great for gods, A600-A2599 for creation myths, and everything else for more general myths. (Details on how to use this fantastic resource in the article.)
This article has sections on origins, pantheons, rituals, myths, worldly matters, and religious relations.
O
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Hello everyone. I'm not sure how I should approach this issue, so I'll just display my personal thoughts and beliefs, and read your responses. I would be very interested to start a dialog in the comments or with PMs.
I have been Orthodox Christian for most of my life. Since my teenage years, I started having doubts. I quickly became agnostic and atheistic, and I left my Christian religion behind. I have been struggling ever since, and I've always went back and forth between atheism and Christianity. That lasted until I came across Hellenism.
I begun reading about modern polytheism in Greece, and it started making a lot of sense to me. The reason I left Christianity in the first place was lack of belief. Christianity doesn't make sense to me at all. But Hellenic polytheism is deeply philosophical, and it's not nearly as limiting as monotheism.
I've been watching many videos made by Hellenic polytheists and other modern philosophers (not sure if they are polytheists, but they deal with Hellenism in general). One thing that surprised me is the rationalism and philosophy that I found in modern Hellenic polytheism. Another thing that amazed me is their definitions of god/goddess and the cosmos. They do not define god in the same way as the monotheists do. This is very interesting to me.
To be honest with you, while watching their videos and reading their books, I never came across an idea that was non-rational, mystical or supernatural. Their ideas are unique, but they don't seem to require belief in the supernatural at all. To give you an example, one of the ways they understand gods and goddesses is this: god (theos) is the taxithetic system that provides order to the cosmos. Gods and goddesses are understood as pure wisdom and virtue, rather than people. The divine also seems to be associated with movement (kinisi) rather than love or any other human feeling.
As a rationalist and agnostic, I am very attracted to this aspect of modern polytheism, which seems to be an evolved form of the old polytheistic religion of Hellenism. I can't stop thinking that, if Plato and Aristotle were alive, they would understand the gods in this rationalized manner, and they would not be content with mysticism.
What are you thoughts on the matter? Do you think there's room for me in r/Hellenism, or should I try to find a different community? Thanks for reading!
#Premise
Many bible scholars today think that the bible slowly developed out of canaanite Paganism ,and only later after the destruction of the 1st temple and persian Zoroastrian influence did it become more Monotheistic ,and was not the revolutionary monotheistic text from the start as many Christians and Jews claim it to be.
If this were to be true, it would mean that the bible slowly developed by influence from other cultures, and the books in it were products of there own Time, this would then further prove that biblical religion was not inspired by God, since if it was , it would remain consistently polytheistic or Monotheistic all the way through, and this is not the pattern we see.
While we could use Sources other than the bible to see the development of biblical religion, the best source is the bible itself. Here are a few examples of polytheism in the bible, including a council of gods, a high God that is distinct from Yahweh, the Egyptian gods existing, and , the biggest of all, Chemosh
#The Egyptian pantheon, a council of gods and the high God.
The God of the bible Threatens to bring judgement upon The gods of egypt, which confirms there existence
Exodus 12:12
For I will pass through the land of Egypt on this night and strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast; and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt I am the LORD
Another explicit recognition of the existence of multiple gods in exodus
Exodus 15:11
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ?"
The high God and Yahweh are different gods, Yahweh was assigned the nation of Israel by the high God
Deutoronomy 32:8-9
When El Elyon (literelly "High God") gave the nations their inheritance , when he divided all mankind,(Y) he set up boundaries(Z) for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. 9 For Yahweh's portion is his people , Jacob his allotted inheritance.
These verses are perhaps the reason that the bible, tho recognizing the existence and power of other gods, encourages Israel to only worship Yahweh, since he is the lord of that nation specifically, as Decided By el Elyon
But yahweh and Elyon Aren't the only 2 gods ,oh no, there is a whole Council of gods. As we read -
Genesis 3:22
Then the Lord God said, βBehold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live fo
... keep reading on reddit β‘I am interested in learning more about Roman Polytheism and how it was/is practiced, what are some good books about It?
I am arguing with someone and they keep on denying it even though it looks like basic comprehension and that every source I checked agrees on this. Is it Polytheism?
Prelude:
Hello, my name is Tia! I am a practicing polytheist. I follow the Gods and Goddesses of Mesopotamia, primarily Inana.
Many of my beliefs have their foundation laid in the esoteric understandings of Mesopotamian mythology, Sufism, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, Socratic thought, Taoism, Animism, Hinduism, esoteric Astrology, and Carl Jungs ideas on the archetypes.
In Mesopotamian tradition, the Abzu is considered to be the primordial waters where existence comes into being. An, Sky God, is the ruler of this realm, as well as the father/grandfather of all the other deities. He is described as being the one who βcontains the universeβ. He and all of his children and grandchildren govern different aspects of the reality we experience. An is also one of the βSeven Gods who Decree Fateβ. Humanity was given divine gifts of society in order to perform theurgical practices and provide offerings to the Gods. I tend to find a deeper meaning to these things when in contemplation and meditation.
What Iβm going to discuss will be somewhat complex, and I am hoping for feedback.
Let us dive in.
Structure:
It seems to me that there is one primary emanation of the divinity of the universe, that is simultaneously the universe itself. We sometimes call this the Macrocosm, or the Divine Light. With light as we understand it in the physical realm, we do not observe it. We do however observe the things that light casts itself upon. The Divine Light isnβt something that functions in the world of the tangible. It is obscured in the ethereal dimensions outside of human sight, yet perceivable with enough discipline through the spiritual beings it illuminates. Our souls are indeed one of these beings.
Gods and Goddesses seem to me to be a perspective reflection of this Divine Light. I think that they all have their own wills and determinations (much like the evil eye, an idea at first, with so much power that it gains sentience). These beings are archetypal in nature, and their aspects are each a portion of the behaviour of the universe.
An easy conceptualisation and direct parallel to this is humanity. Humans tend to behave in predictable and categorical manners. It seems to me that we as people are also ourselves reflections. In our case however, reflections of the Gods, which are themselves reflections of the singular Divine Light. We are the microcosms. Although I do not think that makes us lesser sentient beings non-unique. This also seems to be in
... keep reading on reddit β‘I've been reading up on early church history and feel convinced by the work of scholars like Mark S. Smith in regards to Judaism's early roots in polytheism. Do theologians generally reject these ideas of Yahweh having a consort in Asherah or multiple gods being worshipped by the ancient Israelites only for monotheists to write them out of history?
As someone raised in Christianity, this was always a weird concept. God is in 3 persons, the father, the son and the holy spirit, but some how is also all just 1 person, God. Is Jesus separate from father or is he his own father? Does God have multiple personalities disorder? All jokes aside, I remember understanding this as it being different aspects of the person of God. That might would make since except to me, but why to you keep them separate? Let's say Jonathan, John, and Johnnie are the same man but at different times of personal development. Would you talk about him as if they were different persons? Would it make any since to say that Jonathan is John's father? Why would John talk about his father, Jonathan, if they were the same person? This just sounds and acts like polytheism. I don't see how it's not.
Please share your thoughts, questions, and pictures, if applicable.
Not all weekly discussion questions will apply to all Pagans. Please check back in next Wednesday for a new question!
I don't know if CGJ ever made this explicit, but something I gather in reading him seems to be that the progression of human history is in many ways analogous to the individuation process of each person. Numerous examples. One connection I've made recently is the transition from polytheism to monotheism could be likened to individuation itself, whereby humans bring all of the gods into one while the individual de-fragments his psyche into wholeness.
Am I way off? Be cruel.
Vedas and Upanishads (they are some Hindu scriptures) say that theistic Hinduism only has one Divinity. All the different forms of Divinity are just different ways of understanding The One.
Why do people think Hinduism is polytheistic? It isnβt
Hello everyone. I'm not sure how I should approach this issue, so I'll just display my personal thoughts and beliefs, and read your responses. I would be very interested to start a dialog in the comments or with PMs.
I have been Orthodox Christian for most of my life. Since my teenage years, I started having doubts. I quickly became agnostic and atheistic, and I left my Christian religion behind. I have been struggling ever since, and I've always went back and forth between atheism and Christianity. That lasted until I came across Hellenism.
I begun reading about modern polytheism in Greece, and it started making a lot of sense to me. The reason I left Christianity in the first place was lack of belief. Christianity doesn't make sense to me at all. But Hellenic polytheism is deeply philosophical, and it's not nearly as limiting as monotheism.
I've been watching many videos made by Hellenic polytheists and other modern philosophers (not sure if they are polytheists, but they deal with Hellenism in general). One thing that surprised me is the rationalism and philosophy that I found in modern Hellenic polytheism. Another thing that amazed me is their definitions of god/goddess and the cosmos. They do not define god in the same way as the monotheists do. This is very interesting to me.
To be honest with you, while watching their videos and reading their books, I never came across an idea that was non-rational, mystical or supernatural. Their ideas are unique, but they don't seem to require belief in the supernatural at all. To give you an example, one of the ways they understand gods and goddesses is this: god (theos) is the taxithetic system that provides order to the cosmos. Gods and goddesses are understood as pure wisdom and virtue, rather than people. The divine also seems to be associated with movement (kinisi) rather than love or any other human feeling.
As a rationalist and agnostic, I am very attracted to this aspect of modern polytheism, which seems to be an evolved form of the old polytheistic religion of Hellenism. I can't stop thinking that, if Plato and Aristotle were alive, they would understand the gods in this rationalized manner, and they would not be content with mysticism.
What are you thoughts on the matter? Do you think there's room for me in r/paganism, or should I try to find a different community? Thanks for reading!
After general society, warfare, and economy, people have been asking for religion. So here we go! Right at the start, I'd like to recommend Bret Devereaux's "Practical Polytheism" series on his blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. That series inspired a lot of this, though I've added some insights and resources as well.
Alrighty, the usual conditions: I'll by trying to hold to things that are true across most premodern civilizations, so there's a lot of variation to account for. Fantasy magic and cosmology changes a lot, though less than you'd expect for this topic. The usual "most fantasy is early modern" also affects less here. Finally, if my unfortunate European- and Mediterranean-heavy education shows here, please let me know and point me to places to learn.
In addition, while this post focuses on polytheistic religions, almost all the points can apply to monotheistic systems as well. It could be argued that Medieval Catholicism followed most of the following points except for two main exceptions: other gods definitely didn't exist, and God is morally right. This'll make more sense once you read the rest of the article.
I've realized that these posts are too long for many people to read through, so I'm going to add a brief summary here:
- Religion was less about beliefs and morals and more about achieving real benefits through rituals; deities and myths were mostly explanations on why rituals worked.
- Think pantheons, not individual gods; your characters need someone to turn to for every situation. You can use existing pantheons to make sure you've got everything covered. Also, alignments don't matter; people can't afford to offend a god, no matter how much they disagree with what the god says, does, or wants.
- For ideas, you can use the Thompson Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; A0-A599 are great for gods, A600-A2599 for creation myths, and everything else for more general myths. (Details on how to use this fantastic resource in the article.)
This article has sections on origins, pantheons, rituals, myths, worldly matters, and religious relations.
O
... keep reading on reddit β‘For those who might wonder, monolatry is the believe in a polytheistic pantheon but only worshipping a certain god or goddess. Do some of you practice it? If so which god/goddess do you worship?
For those who might wonder, monolatry is the believe in a polytheistic pantheon but only worshipping a certain god or goddess. Do some of you practice it? If so which god/goddess do you worship?
I'm looking for some good arguments to use when speaking with polytheists. Can anyone help me out? (Bonus points for arguments against pantheism and/or panentheism.)
Thanks!
After general society, warfare, and economy, people have been asking for religion. So here we go! Right at the start, I'd like to recommend Bret Devereaux's "Practical Polytheism" series on his blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. That series inspired a lot of this, though I've added some insights and resources as well.
Alrighty, the usual conditions: I'll by trying to hold to things that are true across most premodern civilizations, so there's a lot of variation to account for. Fantasy magic and cosmology changes a lot, though less than you'd expect for this topic. The usual "most fantasy is early modern" also affects less here. Finally, if my unfortunate European- and Mediterranean-heavy education shows here, please let me know and point me to places to learn.
In addition, while this post focuses on polytheistic religions, almost all the points can apply to monotheistic systems as well. It could be argued that Medieval Catholicism followed most of the following points except for two main exceptions: other gods definitely didn't exist, and God is morally right. This'll make more sense once you read the rest of the article.
I've realized that these posts are too long for many people to read through, so I'm going to add a brief summary here:
- Religion was less about beliefs and morals and more about achieving real benefits through rituals; deities and myths were mostly explanations on why rituals worked.
- Think pantheons, not individual gods; your characters need someone to turn to for every situation. You can use existing pantheons to make sure you've got everything covered. Also, alignments don't matter; people can't afford to offend a god, no matter how much they disagree with what the god says, does, or wants.
- For ideas, you can use the Thompson Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; A0-A599 are great for gods, A600-A2599 for creation myths, and everything else for more general myths. (Details on how to use this fantastic resource in the article.)
This article has sections on origins, pantheons, rituals, myths, worldly matters, and religious relations.
O
... keep reading on reddit β‘Priests are being sent across the known world to spread the word of the gods. The belief of one god is ridiculous, one being could not handle that much power. There are clearly multiple gods, not one.
AVE IVPITER
Greece was known for being polytheistic among other things, so I'm wondering if there are still people with such beliefs
How many other polytheist out there,What is your Practice, If you Are not a polytheist do you know any? What has your experiences with them been, how do you view them.
https://preview.redd.it/rj4x21ug1e681.png?width=1856&format=png&auto=webp&s=ffafbf3d7a585aad4e7f927fad3a953458138cc7
Prelude:
Hello, my name is Tia! I am a practicing polytheist. I follow the Gods and Goddesses of Mesopotamia, primarily Inana.
Many of my beliefs have their foundation laid in the esoteric understandings of Mesopotamian mythology, Sufism, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, Socratic thought, Taoism, Animism, Hinduism, esoteric Astrology, and Carl Jungs ideas on the archetypes.
In Mesopotamian tradition, the Abzu is considered to be the primordial waters where existence comes into being. An, Sky God, is the ruler of this realm, as well as the father/grandfather of all the other deities. He is described as being the one who βcontains the universeβ. He and all of his children and grandchildren govern different aspects of the reality we experience. An is also one of the βSeven Gods who Decree Fateβ. Humanity was given divine gifts of society in order to perform theurgical practices and provide offerings to the Gods. I tend to find a deeper meaning to these things when in contemplation and meditation.
What Iβm going to discuss will be somewhat complex, and I am hoping for feedback.
Let us dive in.
Structure:
It seems to me that there is one primary emanation of the divinity of the universe, that is simultaneously the universe itself. We sometimes call this the Macrocosm, or the Divine Light. With light as we understand it in the physical realm, we do not observe it. We do however observe the things that light casts itself upon. The Divine Light isnβt something that functions in the world of the tangible. It is obscured in the ethereal dimensions outside of human sight, yet perceivable with enough discipline through the spiritual beings it illuminates. Our souls are indeed one of these beings.
Gods and Goddesses seem to me to be a perspective reflection of this Divine Light. I think that they all have their own wills and determinations (much like the evil eye, an idea at first, with so much power that it gains sentience). These beings are archetypal in nature, and their aspects are each a portion of the behaviour of the universe.
An easy conceptualisation and direct parallel to this is humanity. Humans tend to behave in predictable and categorical manners. It seems to me that we as people are also ourselves reflections. In our case however, reflections of the Gods, which are themselves reflections of the singular Divine Light. We are the microcosms. Although I do not think that makes us lesser sentient beings non-unique. This also seems to be in li
... keep reading on reddit β‘