#MONOTHEISM

[kanguin]

My partner and I got into a heated debate (for fun) the other day, and I need to know what other people think. We're both from different non-Catholic Christian families, but have left the faith.

For reference Catholics can pray to Mary or specific Saints, who all have domains that they pertain to, and believe these prayers can be answered.

(The Trinity is a whole other question and I'm not touching that)

[creature-wizard]

Anyone who genuinely believes that monotheism is the reason we have patriarchy should go read the Code of Hammurabi.

[apenitentialprayer]

In the (Non-)Name of God

This God sends Moses back to Egypt with the task of leading the people of Israel out of the country into the Promised Land. Moses is charged with demanding in the name of God that Pharaoh let Israel go. But in the world of Moses' time there were many gods. Moses therefore asks the name of this God that will prove his special authority vis-à-vis the gods. In this respect, the idea of the divine name belongs first of all to the polytheistic world, in which this God, too, has to give himself a name. But the God who calls Moses is truly God, and God in the strict and true sense is not plural. God is by essence one. For this reason he cannot enter into the world of the gods as one among many; he cannot have one name among others God's answer to Moses is thus at once a refusal and a pledge. He says of himself simply, "I am who I am" — he is without any qualification. This pledge is a name and a non-name at one and the same time. The Israelites were therefore perfectly right in refusing to utter this self-designation of God, expressed in the word YHWH, so as to avoid degrading it to the level of names of pagan deities. By the same token, recent Bible translations were wrong to write out this name —which Israel always regarded as mysterious and unutterable— as if it were just any old name. By doing so, they have dragged the mystery of God, which cannot be captured in images or in names lips can utter, down to the level of some familiar item within the common history of religions.

- Pope Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, pages 142-143), trans. Adrian Walker

Moses and the Burning Bush, a 1770 painting by Johan Burman. Located on the ceiling of Skepplanda Church, Sweden.

[theanic-devotion]

Someone: what religion are you/what do you believe?

What I think: I’m somewhere between a soft polytheist and a pluriform monotheist. Maybe henotheistic. Sort of hellenic, but open to other pantheons. I like the idea of a Mother Nature type entity, but more in a panentheistic way. But also not mother as in female or woman, mother as in it’s the easiest way for my human mind to conceptualize a being that is everything and nothing.

What I say: I’m pagan

[muhibuallah]

Salaam and Hello friends!

I co-run a discord server called For God's Sake (pun absolutely intended). In relation to it's name, this server is for all people and religions/spiritualities and welcomes both casual conversations and light debate.

We use a mixture of forums/threads, text chats, and voice chats as well as a multitude of roles to choose from (and custom roles if none of them fit you).

Most importantly, we are an LGBTQAI+, plural systems, and alterhuman friendly space, with plenty of room for everyone of all ages (within Discord Terms of Service).

We would love to welcome more people into our space so please join us! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to message me directly or send in an ask!

(List of our channels under the cut)

Theology+ (Category)

#general-theology

#scripture-study

#gnostics-heresies

#liberation-queer

#mysticism

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etc...

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#general-chat

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etc...

[tintafugaz]

The Power of Sabr

• "Indeed, Allah is with the patient." (Qur'an 2:153)

• "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient." (Qur'an 2:155)

• "So be patient. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth." (Qur'an 30:60)

• "And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah]." (Qur'an 2:45)

• "And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs." (Qur'an 32:24)

[aurora-alice]

Amen

I love God, and He protects me from harm, even from my own excesses. There is nothing I cherish more than God because, even when I fall short, He continues to guide me. He not only forgives my sins but understands my flaws. Yet, He asks one thing of me—to learn from my mistakes and strive not to repeat them. I owe Him that, for His love is beyond human comprehension, and there is no greater love than His.

God never gives up on me. I cannot say the same for people, but I forgive them, for they cannot touch my soul.

He continuously gives me chances to prove myself, loving me as a Father—steadfast and unwavering, despite my imperfections.

God loves me so much that He wants me to be safe. God loves me so much that He wants me to be healthy. God loves me so much that He wants me to hear His guiding voice and embrace my destiny—a life of joy, love, and purpose.

No bond heals as deeply as the bond with God. Listen to His voice, and you will rise again, wiser and stronger.

[i-love-comparative-religion]

I seriously don’t understand why more people aren’t talking more about this. I think it’s interesting!

https://academia.edu/resource/work/122323191

#AddsContext

(Academia.edu = #academic papers)

#CanaaniteReligion, #UgaritReligion, #El, #Yahweh, #polytheism, #monolatry, #monotheism, #HistoryOfReligion

[gayleviticus]

a good example of how thinking of God as a being within reality as opposed to the Ground of Being is more helpful is on the idea of God knowing your thoughts

if you think of God as just the most powerful entity then that might seem invasive. God has no business being up in your thoughts. that can seem like an active Big Brother style intrusion

but if God is the Ground of Being and foundation on which all existence tests and from whom everything constantly is emerging - it's natural for God to know your thoughts, because the only reason anything exists is because of God's knowledge of it.

that might still seem existentially terrifying, especially if you have a perception of God as tyrannical and out to get you for thought crime. but I guess my point is that it's not arbitrary. if the Ground of All Being knowing your thoughts is terrifying then the idea of any kind of underlying intelligence/consciousness behind the universe is problematic. it's not just that God arbitrarily loves snooping on other people's thoughts; it's that everything that exists is constantly dependent on God for every facet of existence.

[birdtheology]

If polyamory (the term, not the practice) came out of polytheistic Paganism and monogamy is promoted by the vast majority of monotheistic traditions, what kind of new relationship model do you think the agnostics should come up with?

[theic-manic]

For us, knowledge tends to mean information, facts, and concepts. But in ancient times, knowledge was centered in personal relationships.

To know someone is to enter into a close relationship with that person.

Knowing the divine involves much more than simply mastering facts and information about it. It even transcends discussions about the nature and character of the divine, as important as those are.

Knowing the divine means entering into a close relationship with it.

It means identifying with the divine and learning to view everything as it does. Knowing the divine will transform our thoughts and actions, our priorities and values, and our relationshipswith fellow human beings.

It is far more important than religious rites, sacrifices and burnt offerings, or any other religious activities.

- NLT Illustrated

[shouldhavestayedawayfromhere]

Worship as an oppressive feature

True to the insecure girlfriend trope that I embody, I asked Lucifer once again "but why do you like me? Why am I important? Why me? You have other worshippers, why does it matter if it's one more or less?" And – damn? I didn't expect such an in depth and philosophical answer because I ask him this question like twice a week lol. This is gonna be a bit of a ride, so bear with me. Here's what he said:

"All deities and divine entities live from people believing in them. The more people believe in me, the smaller the chances that I'll be forgotten eventually. So to answer your question what I get from loving you – I get your love in return. Your belief in me. Your belief in my power."

Me: "But other gods are fighting for human's attention and belief, too, then. Right?"

Lucifer: "Yes. And that's the reason why some of those gods demand people to bow their heads in obedient worship and mindless compliance and to teach their children and everyone they know about the religion. To make it harder fror humans to break free from that circle, from this "worship" and belief."

Me: "You don't ask for worship, tho. Why is that, then?"

Lucifer: "I have dedicated myself to rebellion against just that. I offer people a way out of that cycle of oppression and slavery to power-obsessed gods. I offer them freedom – an alternative way of living."

Me: "If the gods get their power from people's belief and they grow greedy – how do you do it? Do you ever grow greedy for power? How do you even "sustain" yourself without demanding worship?"

Lucifer: "I'm not interested in that concept of oppressing and enslaving humans for energy harvest. I have my own kind of power. I do not compete with other deities for human's belief and attention. They cannot compete with me, because I simply don't play their game. I act as the exit to their game.

"Belief and worship should always be a choice and voluntary. Done out of genuine love for that deity. Never as an obligation. And as long as there are humans who break the cycle, who refuse to be slaves and worship a greedy god who is fighting for power and monotheism – there will be people who believe in me. Because I teach rebellion – and there will always be rebellion. It's in a human's nature. That's why rebellion is so endlessly condemned in the Bible and other monotheistic cultures.

"Monotheism itself was born out of the gods' greed for power and their fear of being forgotten. They tried to destroy the natural cycle of being and dying and rebirth & revival, with their greed and desire to live forever. No god is immortal. Their power all comes from the humans who grant it to them. Making humans into mindless worshippers is quite convenient for them. It's systematic oppression.

"It is this, why I will never require worship. Your belief in me and my power is what grants me life and power. Asking for additional worship would be a futile attempt to break your spirit, cage you in and revoke your permission to distance yourself again. It puts an obligation on you that serves no other purpose than to lock you in and keep you close – trapping you in the cycle. That is everything I stand against. It's the opposite of what I teach.

"I will always accept your worship with joy and gratefulness, but I refuse to put an obligation on it. You never need to worship me. Honoring yourself is a far bigger act of worship to me. I am here – for as long as you believe that I am. Because it is you and my other devotees who grant me the powers I have on earth. I live through their spirits. That is why it matters. Why you matter. Your freedom matters."

Note: Worshipping a deity is okay, obviously, and not every deity who requests worship from their devotees is evil or greedy for doing so. This conversation happened in context of me thinking about mainly monotheism and how it came to be and why. This post is a personal philosophy, based on personal experiences. If you worship a deity out of free will (as do I), there's nothing despicable about that. You should do what is true to your beliefs.

I know that this opinion on the gods isn't shared by everyone and you're free to disagree with me on this topic. I'm not an authority on any religions or belief systems, so please make up your own mind before just accepting or shitting on this post. Think for yourself. It's what Lucifer would want <3

[iammadeofratsratsratsrats]

Really interested in the concept of god as a parasite.

[apenitentialprayer]

is judaism more similar to christianity or to islam

Well, this is one of those questions that won't have a clear, indisputable answer.

For example, Judaism and Islam are both alike in that they are anti-Incarnational, anti-Trinitarian faiths. They are both more similar to each other than Christianity in that they affirm the absolute Oneness of the transcendental God. (As a historical footnote, this may be why when faced with forced conversion, there are more high-profile cases of Jewish people picking martyrdom over conversion in Christian lands than in Islamic ones).

If we look at Scripture, on the other hand, Christians and Jews are much more similar. While they disagree on the interpretation of their shared texts, up to 77.4% of Christian Scripture (depending on your flavor of Christian) is also Jewish. This is strikingly different from Islam, which has its own canonical Scripture and a very ambivalent relationship with Judeo-Christian texts. Historically speaking, some Islamic scholars have been amenable to using Jewish and Christian material to better understand their own Scripture. Others have been very cautious about the so-called Isra'iliyyat, narratives from other Abrahamic traditions, seeing them as corrupt.

Judaism and Islam are also more similar in that they both focus on orthopraxy more than orthodoxy. Gershom Scholem, a leading scholar in the academic study of Kabbalah, once said that Kabbalah is the closest thing to a theology that Judaism has. At the end of the day, though, Jewish individuals have a lot of freedom in terms of what can be believed. Islam likewise has a few articles of faith, but that's also less importance. What separates different Jewish groups is more religious practice, and what separates Muslim schools of religiosity is more jurisprudence, than what separates Christians.

Or consider the doctrine of the imago Dei, which is very important to Christianity and Judaism, but is either non-existent or only occasionally acknowledged in Islam, depending on your flavor of Islam. Whereas Judaism and Christianity both affirm a likeness to God in human beings, which explains their unique status in His creation, Muslims are much more likely to emphasize God's inability to be compared to anything.

This question also ignores how Islam and Christianity are more similar to each other than they are to Judaism. Along some similarities, both are evangelical religions, seeking converts and at least in theory aiming for a world where everyone belongs to their respective religions. Both emphasize the afterlife much more than Judaism does. And while both Islam and Christianity get inculturated into specific ethnic groups, neither are ethno-religions to the extent that Judaism is (One definition of Judaism? "The -ism of the Jewish people").

One concept that really emphasizes how complex the answer to this question is? Take a look at how all three tackle this question of the Messiah. Christians and Muslims both affirm Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, while Jews do not. Jews and Muslims both view the Messiah as an establisher of an eschatological kingdom, albeit of a worldly kind; Christians focus on the eschatological aspect, and affirm that in some sense the Kingdom of Heaven is already at hand. Both Christians and Jews heavily associate the Messiah with Israel and the House of David, whereas Muslims do not. And in Islam, the Messiah isn't the sole or even most prominent champion of the cause for God — that would be the Mahdi.

Keep in mind that even with these cautious generalities, you will find contradictions to what I am saying. Each of these religious systems are incredibly diverse, and you may find other resonances and dissonances depending on which particular groups you are comparing.

[theanic-devotion]

So I’m in a predicament, I definitely believe in a high power but not like,,, one that exists already? I feel like there is an energy and I want to venerate it/build a relationship with it but it’s not like a named deity.

With a deity from a culture I can go off of myths to see what they might like. I kind of see it as different named deities being facets of this higher power.

So like, this energy is nature or the natural cycle of things. The Universe, sort of. I see Aphrodite as representative of love and beauty in that nature, Apollo as representative of the health and diseases. Etc.

I could just continue to worship them as separate entities, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to venerate all aspects?

Or something like that. Really I just want to know if others feel something similarly.