Question For Polytheists Here

[Voodoo Doctor]

I believe there is one Supreme Being, Bondye (Bon Dieu - Good God) or Gran Met (Great Master), but he is remote, perhaps more of a force than a "person." He created the Universe, but he does directly involve himself in its affairs. There are intermediary beings, the loas, which are sometimes referred to as the Voodoo "gods." I work directly with these beings. As with many other polytheistic systems, the loas represent natural forces and/or have specifc functions. Erzulie Frida is the loa of love and beauty. Agwe is the loa of the Ocean. Loko is the loa of healing and plants. Ogun is the loa who presides over war. Papa Legba (the Old Man at the Crossroads) is the gatekeeper who opens the door so than mankind can converse with the other loas. Ghede is the loa of Death. My personal loa is Simbi Makaya, a loa who presides over magic and sorcery. Please understand that these are very simple descriptions and the actual character and function of the loas is much more complex. I just wished to provide a brief sketch of my belief system .

[Zequatanil]

Very educational--Thank you . Much appreciated.

Blessings and peace,

Suzanne

[Voodoo Doctor]

Very educational--Thank you . Much appreciated.

Blessings and peace,

Suzanne

[Atwater Vitki]

Voodoo - interesting parallels to the Nordic pantheon!

Blessings Be,

[Atwater Vitki]

The whole concept of "emulation" vs that of "worship" is based on this very premise. There is a arch-physical "being" Odhinn who we do not worship, rather as Leopard said, honor. The "All-Father" Odhinn reigns supreme over the Æsir and Vanir gods and goddesses from his castle Välhalr in Äsgaard (Nordic heaven)

Does Odin really exist? (for those who honor the Norse traditions) Is it more like the concept of Odin exists?

It is from the many sagas we learn of the gods' escapades and various dealing with us mortals and take our lessons from those experiences. The "wise" among us, will learn the right and/or wrong way to approach problems in Life based on these stories. How we deal with them is of course doing "right" or finding out how destructive "wrong" is.

The Voluspa is one of the better skaldic writings to learn of the way us mere mortals perceive the hierarchy. As well, "The Tricking of Gylfi" or "Gylfaginning" is also a good read for the clever manner in which the Nordic pantheon reveals itself to mortals, for anyone interested.

There is a lot of academic debate regarding the origins of the Norse, but the more archaeological evidence we find it is really becoming evident that Odin and Thor were part of a large group of people that emigrated from none other than Troy around 3500-3300BCE. It is though by several modern day professors on Nordic mythology that the flesh and blood leaders of that group (approx 8,000-10,000 people) are the source of the latter Nordic mythology though it is clear that the men themselves were not the "gods", rather their names became superimposed over the ethereal beings who's names have been lost to the centuries.

There is, however, a good deal of similarity to the ancient Trojan pantheon and that of the much later Nordic pantheon, even though the Nordics seemed to have added many names to their list.

Hope that helped.

Blessings of Peace,

[Ex Nihilo]

I remember in high school reading in my history book a letter where Marco Polo or someone else first encountered Hindu art in India and he interpreted it to be that Hindus believed in one God with glorified saints and angels attending them. He even thought of them as Christians of a kind. It's all through a lens, isn't it?

[revtimothybland]

I remember in high school reading in my history book a letter where Marco Polo or someone else first encountered Hindu art in India and he interpreted it to be that Hindus believed in one God with glorified saints and angels attending them. He even thought of them as Christians of a kind. It's all through a lens, isn't it?

Yes, I'd imagine so. after all. polytheism usually puts an emphasis on a single God/Goddess, and only mentions the rest. In Greece, you had temples dedicated to single Gods, but you found at least a temple for each God. If one saw only A Temple when visiting, one might come to a similar conclusion as Marco Polo did about Hinduism. Perception is key to just about everything.

[scottedward]

What "gods/Gods" do you believe in? Or do I have it wrong?

I really would love to hear from you guys. I am a theist, but I believe in one Supreme Being/Creator/Author of Life/God, etc.

I believe in Brahman. Brahman is what we call the Hindu 'aspect of supreme reality'. Brahman is responsible for creating the universe, and comes to all of us in many forms and as many gods. Each of his many avatars have their own identity and history, and each of them are adored by those who worship them; I offer my devotion for each of them, depending on what I'm needing.

Some might say that I'm a monotheistic-polytheist.

[Ex Nihilo]

I believe in my own faith tradition that the Brahman/Atman paradigm has interesting correlations with God the Father, Son, & holy ghost divine relationship. I dig it Scott. This is a really fascinating thread!

Edited April 28, 2013 by RevRattlesnake

[Elizabeth Cadre]

hi - i'm kind of eclectic... I see it as a growing process, actually.

I did the searching, then the born-again, now I'm kind of multi-faith, I guess you'd have to call it.

My main girl is STILL Eris, I think. She's the Greek goddess of the reality check. She's the one who takes the rap for the trojan war, when it was the self serving stupid **** goddesses who caused the trouble. ( I so detest Venus/Aphrodite!! <GAK> it was HER fault!) For those who know the story ... shouldn't the most beautiful at a wedding be THE BRIDE, not one of the guests? Jeez-Louise!

I go with the one-creator-god theory ( my friend thinks the entire universe IS God, who blew himself up and created everything - the big bang = creation.) I think our souls reincarnate.

But my bottom line is that .... I think that all the religions of man are man-made.

I posted on another thread that I tell my kids that god, science & magic are all the same thing.

BUT we were talking polytheism, weren't we... I am currently studying the norse mythology.

I may move past that pantheon some day, but they're what I am studying today.

Mythology (including Jesus) teaches us things, makes it easier for us to see from these silly bodies we're in.

I'm trying to figure out where to take this "New Age" thing, because whoever came up with astrology had things pegged pretty well. (the babylonians, I guess.. they get a lot of the credit for it these days... idk.)

I like correspondences. E-S-W-N Air-Fire-Water-Earth -- insert an aspect of your favorite god...

My religion, like most aspects of my life, falls under "solitary practitioner" ie- I got nobody to bounce this stuff off of & I have to kind of feel my way through the dark on a lot of it. I'm not fond of rituals, and any god that needs me to gak through the smoke inhilation of insense burning is NOT getting my patronidge.

i think

the "one true god"

lives inside me.....

But - in the kitchen I try to think about Sif

and if I get creative, I can focus on Weyland.

For revenge I invoke Odin (Wednesday has always been my favorite day of the week, and power day)

and i just try to grow my soul as i go along.

... my first counseling question to my friends is "do you have a god you talk to?" and then I ask the name or direction they're coming from. (there's -like- 3,000 versions of just Christianity to choose from)

Prayer is preparing ourselves to receive the Good from God - what ever name resonates and helps you with your "magic" is .. well.. Is.

~Hail Eris!

Hail Eris!

Oh, Hail ~

(and where many take discordianism as a joke, I do not. it just makes too much sense! )

the bottom line of discordianism is to think for yourself.

i think that Jesus of Nazareth guy was on a similar tack....

[panpareil]

It seems in some cases religions start out polytheistic with various aspects of deity embodied in separate personae, like the Christian trinity.

New deities or anti-deities can develop in an established religion out of a need to fulfill a missing aspect of the original godhead, such as Satan.

Foreign or conquered peoples gods have been incorporated into exiting religious pantheons as saints or lesser deities, such as Saint Bridget (The Celtic Goddess Brigid),

as is the iconography of the gods of conquered peoples - fir trees, eggs, and rabbits.

Gods have even been created by combining two peoples deities when they merge, which has been postulated for the use of both El and Yahweh for the name of God along with the merging of Judah and Israel.

I do not mean to pick on Christianity or Judaism, these are just the religions I'm most acquainted with. Examples can be pulled out of all other older religions.

I also see a vacillation between having the universe run by a lone individual to the idea of a collective running things. My personal view is that monotheism is a development upon polytheism and that it reflects a more integrated world view.

[RevJohnG]

Are there polytheistic based atheists who say I don't believe in "gods"? lol

[musicman153]

The Gods may be many but....I bow to none of them.

[revtimothybland]

Are there polytheistic based atheists who say I don't believe in "gods"? lol

Good question. I'll mention it to the next atheist who tries to tell me I'm wrong.

The Gods may be many but....I bow to none of them.

I don't personally believe that anyone should "bow" to any Gods. I think it's more of a symbiotic relationship, not a "whom controls whom" thing.

[Maitre Carrefour]

In Haitian Voodoo the loa are indeed worshipped or "served," but being a sorcerer (bokor) instead of a priest (houngan), I do not worship the loa. I work with them. The loa are sometimes called the Voodoo "gods", but they are also like ancestor spirits. Some Voodooists become loa themselves after death. (That's what I'm working on, I would love to be one of the Barons , spirits associated with sorcery and death, but also with life and fertility.)

[Ex Nihilo]

Very cool, Maitre...Once, I heard it explained that the Loa were very much like archangels, they were the spiritual gatekeepers of God, who is remote. Sort of like divine middle management.

[Maitre Carrefour]

That's essentially it. God or the supreme being is called Grand Maitre / Gran Met (Great Master) or Bon Dieu / Bondye (Good Good), but he is considered far removed and generally unconcerned. (Some Voodoists think he is a force and not a person.) The loa are the gods/spirits who get directly involved and answer prayers or requests. The loa have different specialties, some are associated with the ocean, some with war, some with love, etc. The loa I work with most is associated with sorcery and magic, Maitre Carrefour / Met Kalfu (Master of the Crossroads). He is often classified with the Barons and called Baron Carrefour / Kalfu. He is generally equated with the Devil at the Crossroads from folklore. So in many ways he is a lot like the demon king Crowley from Supernatural, but he has great power like an archangel would. Maybe like a mixture of Lucifer and Crowley . But he is not considered truly evil, more of a trickster.

Edited May 21, 2013 by BaronCarrefour

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

Are there polytheistic based atheists who say I don't believe in "gods"? lol

This is a trick question. Atheists don't describe or define the God or gods they don't believe in. They don't believe in any gods. There is no Polytheistic Atheist.. Only Atheists.

[RevJohnG]

I was being snarky.

[Fawzo]

Don't most Atheists believe that Absolutely EVERYTHING came from Absolutely NOTHING, which just seems Absolutely CRAZY to me