Deity Discussion Thread

[RAGESTAR 479]

This thread is a place for debate and discussion for gods and deities of different religions and pantheons, throughout the ages. From Greek, to Egyptian, from Aztec, to Chinese, and almost anything in between.

 

However, there are a few ground rules that I would like to lay down before anyone begins posting. 

 

Rule 1: Be respectful, you may not believe in certain religions or deities mentioned on this thread, but others may believe differently, so please don't show any disrespect, this is a civil discussion thread.

 

Rule 2: No "who's real and who's not real" arguments! Everybody is entitled to an opinion and belief, but don't shove your belief onto someone else.

 

Rule 3: No mockery or parody deities! This is an important one, because if I see anyone listing or discussing the "greatness" of Doge, the flying spaghetti monster, or anything else of the sort, you will either be ignored, or reported. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but in this case, please keep it to yourself...

 

And with that, you may begin discussion any way you'd like...if anyone want's to discuss at all, that is...

[Shanks 10,811]

I think of God in this way, God exist but probably dosen't care what you call him. God is still god, traditions are all well and good but become bad when they start to detract from spirituality and into dogmatism. There should be rules but it should be far more than just a series of "thou shalt not's", "you are a piece of crap you are going to burn in hell" tends to turn people away and foster a holier than thous attitude among believers which I seriously think is a form of idolatry. Think about it, by judging others which is God's job you are saying that you can somehow do God's job better than him.

[Malinter 3,064]

If there is a god. no religion on earth has a clue what it actually is.

 

have so say though, the gods of older religions has alot more personality to them, they could even make mistakes and be decieved.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Malinter

[ClandestineWubs 12]

 

 

If there is a god. no religion on earth has a clue what it actually is.

 

have so say though, the gods of older religions has alot more personality to them, they could even make mistakes and be decieved.

 

 

 

I've definitely gotta agree with this, and the Greek gods/goddesses had the most personality, flaws, etc...

 

I just don't see how a single being could be omnipotent and omniscient.

[~Sole~ 852]

I personally like loki. So many dimension and ways to look at him, he's got so much personality and conflict that he's so much more believable then other deities in my opinion. Many see him as evil, I just see him as being loyal to his family.

[RAGESTAR 479]

Hmm...that's a very interesting way to see things...but I see it like this: Almost every deity and pantheon has at least a chance of existing, due to the fact that there could be an uncountable amount of universes beyond our reach, in which the different gods of different religions may reside. So in short, I believe that it comes down to whom you worship, IMO.

 

However, it also depends on what you define as a god. I see gods as any extremely powerful and protective being, that rules over a certain aspect or element. If a god isn't kind or protective, then what's the point of trying to ask them for it? Thor, for example, is the Norse protector of mankind, and is very kind and protective of his followers and allies. This is one of the many reasons why I respect and worship him, but that's just my reasons. I too find that the older gods, such as Norse, Greek, and many others, have defining traits and personalities, in my eyes, this makes them much more interesting and understandable. I just don't personally believe in omnipotence either, if there was such a being, then wouldn't they have destroyed the competition by now? I'm not saying Christian god isn't real, but I do respectively question his all-powerfulness...

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

This is my god:

 

I FUCKING LOVE TURTLES

 

Yeahh, athiest here. I hold nothing against the concept of religion in the slightest, but if I'm wrong and god does exist, I fully expect to see half of Christianity down in hell with me because of how they treat other people

Edited March 3, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[Malinter 3,064]

This is my god:

 

I FUCKING LOVE TURTLES

 

Yeahh, athiest here. I hold nothing against the concept of religion in the slightest, but if I'm wrong and god does exist, I fully expect to see half of Christianity down in hell with me because of how they treat other people

there wouldn't by any chance be 4 elephants and a disk involved with that god of yours? XD

Edited March 3, 2014 by Malinter

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

I love deities of wisdom, such as Thoth, Lugh, Mimir, Ganesha, and Minerva, or Athena, if you like that Greek thing better...

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

I don't believe in deities in the sense of invisible men and women in the sky, rather I think of them as concepts. I believe that the gods and goddesses are personifications and symbols of ideas and forces. Odin can be evoked for knowledge, Ares for war, Venus for love, the Great Lady for protection and nurturing, and Cerumnos to represent the woodlands. I my eyes, they are not literal beings, but symbols of greater things. Because of this, anything can be a deity. I worship the trees and mountains, the clouds in the sky and the fertile earth under my feet. I believe that if a person is so inclined, they can worship a being from a fictional universe (such as Daedra) because it is not the face that matters, it is the feeling of communion with something greater.

[~Sole~ 852]

I don't believe in deities in the sense of invisible men and women in the sky, rather I think of them as concepts. I believe that the gods and goddesses are personifications and symbols of ideas and forces. Odin can be evoked for knowledge, Ares for war, Venus for love, the Great Lady for protection and nurturing, and Cerumnos to represent the woodlands. I my eyes, they are not literal beings, but symbols of greater things. Because of this, anything can be a deity. I worship the trees and mountains, the clouds in the sky and the fertile earth under my feet. I believe that if a person is so inclined, they can worship a being from a fictional universe (such as Daedra) because it is not the face that matters, it is the feeling of communion with something greater.

it's not really that they're invisible, I don't believe that. I believe it's more like they exist on a different plane of reality. It may sound ridiculous, but scientists have had theories of wormholes, pocket dimensions and alternate realities for years now. I believe that the gods only contact us spiritually and mentally, sometimes through dreams or our thoughts, or by giving us small signs. I also think it's difficult for them to do so, which is why they only do it when needed. So am I crazy? Or does anyone else have a similar theory?

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

 

 

it's not really that they're invisible, I don't believe that. I believe it's more like they exist on a different plane of reality. It may sound ridiculous, but scientists have had theories of wormholes, pocket dimensions and alternate realities for years now. I believe that the gods only contact us spiritually and mentally, sometimes through dreams or our thoughts, or by giving us small signs. I also think it's difficult for them to do so, which is why they only do it when needed. So am I crazy? Or does anyone else have a similar theory?

I see what you mean. I was saying that I don't believe in sentient beings possessing supernatural powers taking special interest in humans. I believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and there may be other dimensions or planes with otherworldly beings, I simply don't believe that such beings would seek to intervene in our existence, making them, in my books, more like aliens than deities.

 

I think this is a great idea for a thread. If we can discuss different views and interpretations without sparking religious arguments, there is great potential for broadening horizons and considering other interpretations. Ultimately what matters is the experience. If you experience  certain deity in a certain way, that is what will affect your life and world-view. 

 

I have a question for people who have literal interpretations of their respective gods and goddesses: How do you interpret their physical existence and interaction with our world? Are they a single, powerful entity in your eyes, or a blanket presence, are they on our plane, or an overlapping one? Do you believe that they consciously intervene in life, or do they have a general will which manifests in different ways? I would like to better understand this branch of interpretation. 

[~Sole~ 852]

I see what you mean. I was saying that I don't believe in sentient beings possessing supernatural powers taking special interest in humans. I believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and there may be other dimensions or planes with otherworldly beings, I simply don't believe that such beings would seek to intervene in our existence, making them, in my books, more like aliens than deities.

 

I think this is a great idea for a thread. If we can discuss different views and interpretations without sparking religious arguments, there is great potential for broadening horizons and considering other interpretations. Ultimately what matters is the experience. If you experience  certain deity in a certain way, that is what will affect your life and world-view. 

 

I have a question for people who have literal interpretations of their respective gods and goddesses: How do you interpret their physical existence and interaction with our world? Are they a single, powerful entity in your eyes, or a blanket presence, are they on our plane, or an overlapping one? Do you believe that they consciously intervene in life, or do they have a general will which manifests in different ways? I would like to better understand this branch of interpretation.

 

I don't believe that any deity is omnipotent, maybe really powerful, but not unstoppable and all knowing like some like to think. Again, this is my opinion. Also, I think that deities would take interest in humans, much in the same way humans take interest in animals that are close to human intelligence. Because they want to communicate and interact with them. Teach them, learn from them, sometimes even manipulate and play with them. I think gods are more like minded to humans then most think, they do have their own personalities and all (mine do at least). Also, with most gods they helped humanity grow. Almost like parents. Wouldn't a parent like to keep an eye on their children and help them when needed? Once again, this is just my take. You don't have to believe it

[RAGESTAR 479]

I see what you mean. I was saying that I don't believe in sentient beings possessing supernatural powers taking special interest in humans. I believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and there may be other dimensions or planes with otherworldly beings, I simply don't believe that such beings would seek to intervene in our existence, making them, in my books, more like aliens than deities.

 

I think this is a great idea for a thread. If we can discuss different views and interpretations without sparking religious arguments, there is great potential for broadening horizons and considering other interpretations. Ultimately what matters is the experience. If you experience  certain deity in a certain way, that is what will affect your life and world-view. 

 

I have a question for people who have literal interpretations of their respective gods and goddesses: How do you interpret their physical existence and interaction with our world? Are they a single, powerful entity in your eyes, or a blanket presence, are they on our plane, or an overlapping one? Do you believe that they consciously intervene in life, or do they have a general will which manifests in different ways? I would like to better understand this branch of interpretation. 

 

 

I personally believe that most deities exist on another plane with a physical form, and for good reason too. The good reason for this however, I will mention in a moment, for now, I would like to describe how I believe that my preferred deity, Thor, and the other Norse gods, can hear us via prayer, due to mention of they're names. In my mind, it's a bit like a divine radio, gods can hear many prayers, but they choose to listen to the ones that have to do with them personally. In addition, I also believe that depending on the pantheon, the god your praying to exists in the reality and or dimension in which they are said to live, such as Asgard, Mount Olympus, Heaven, Nirvana, ETC. Which brings me to my next point. The deities that worshippers choose to pray to, Thor for example, are much too powerful to simply visit everyone that worships them, as Thor in particular has even said to be so heavy and hot, that his very presence would threaten to destroy the bridge to Midgar, which is capable of holding hundreds of people at one and chariots of gods to boot! So just imagine a being as powerful as Thor, simply standing in the presence of humans, he would kill you by just standing within range of you!! That, and I'm sure gods and goddesses are much too busy anyway. 

 

So I believe that gods and various deities do their deeds via thought or will, seeing as it would be a stretch for a deity of immense power to even spend more than a few minutes on earth.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I don't think any religion has "God" correct.

 

I personally believe that there is one, all loving deity. 

 

I'd also think that this God would be extremely disappointed in what people do in his/her/it's name.

 

People blowing themselves up for "God". People killing in the name of "God."

 

Also, I can't stand religious d-bags. People who have that superiority complex and are always boasting about how much better they are than you. I also dislike it when people are always trying to convert you, or trying to convince you that having religious laws (Sharia is an example) is a good thing.

[Guest90210 3,567]

Something I noticed...Why do some atheists refuse to capitalize God? Whether you believe in him or not "God" is still referring to a specific being and should be capitalized properly.

 

That's one reason I prefer to call God by a specific name such as Jehovah or Allah. Both are beautiful names that fit such a being perfectly.