NationStates Jolt Archive

So, there's currently a thread about which religion you adhere to/claim/cling to/take comfort in/make cultural nods to/etc.

I would like to have a parallel discussion, if I may: ideas of the existence of deity. There are probably many theists and definitely many atheists and agnostics, but what about other ideas? If we could use these definitions:

Theism - There is a deity.
Deism - There is an uninvolved deity.
Monotheism - There is one deity.
Polytheism - There is more than one deity.
Pantheism - All is deity and deity is all.
Panentheism - Deity is in all.
Agnosticism - I don't know about a deity.
Atheism - There is no deity.
Misotheism - There is a deity and it is evil.

There are of course, other distinctions to be made, but they seem more obscure.

So if you would state which label you claim and why, that would be nice, thank you. I'm particularly interested in hearing from any panentheists or misotheists. And if you disagree with the above definitions, please explain that as well.

Poll to come.

Pietheism - There is Pie.

I'm a Deist leaning towards Atheism.

Dystheism.

Atheist, or a passive deist.

I never worship anything that asks for money, nor do I find the Bible very beautiful. I believe in nature and emotion, so I can believe what I see and feel, but when it comes to organized religion, it hasn't delivered for me.

There are things in the universe more powerful than humanity?

I think so, but it's not proven, and they probably didn't talk to the ancient Jews through a flaming tree. The sentient status of this forces may also be questioned. They're not self-evident, to say the least.

Do we need to worship them?

Not unless you feel like it. I don't. You can enjoy your life and live feeling that the greatest good that you can do is to demonstrate your love and free will.

Mystic monist.

Agnostic leaning to Atheism: A divine being might exist, sure, but so far, we have not seen hide nore hair of it.

Atheist, i dont think that any god or gods exist

Monotheist and wondering if I haven't seen this thread or something similar a billion times already..

I'm an agnostic leaning to misanthropy.

You forgot "Henotheism" - believing in many gods, but worship only one of them.

I like Gnosticism - which is related to Misotheism - as an idea, but I don't believe in it. I'm atheist most of the time, except during flight turbulences.

I don't believe in the existance of god(s), but i'm not sure. However, i am sure that if god(s) exist(s), they are uninvolved. So, what does that make me?

Agnostic here. If there is a god then he seems to have a dark sense of humor.

atheist here

there is no god of any (meaningful) kind.

What meaning less gods exist?

I picked polytheist because, although I refuse to let go of a fundamental skepticism that causes me to question just about everything, I typically say that I believe there are many gods. Potentially, infinite gods.

I am almost a pantheist, because I see all things that exist as manifestations of divine spirit, but I do not think that divine spirit is itself a being or or a consciousness, rather it is the "stuff" of existence. So that means, it's not a god. Rather, gods are manifestations of it, too. So, not a pantheist.

And sort of a henotheist because, although there are potentially infinite gods, in my spiritual belief system, it is not necessary to worship all of them. You just worship/venerate the ones that help you regularly, and make special worship/veneration/offering to those whose help you need only once or intermittently.

But those are really just modifiers to "polytheist" for me.

(However, I should point out that I define "god" perhaps a bit more loosely than others on NSG have in other religion discussions. I do not require massive power or omniscience or any of that sort of stuff for a being to be a god.)

What meaning less gods exist?
a meaningless god is one that created the universe as a pinprick 13 billion years ago then died leaving the universe to expand on its own.

Atheist.

I picked polytheist because, although I refuse to let go of a fundamental skepticism that causes me to question just about everything, I typically say that I believe there are many gods. Potentially, infinite gods.

I am almost a pantheist, because I see all things that exist as manifestations of divine spirit, but I do not think that divine spirit is itself a being or or a consciousness, rather it is the "stuff" of existence. So that means, it's not a god. Rather, gods are manifestations of it, too. So, not a pantheist.

And sort of a henotheist because, although there are potentially infinite gods, in my spiritual belief system, it is not necessary to worship all of them. You just worship/venerate the ones that help you regularly, and make special worship/veneration/offering to those whose help you need only once or intermittently.

But those are really just modifiers to "polytheist" for me.

(However, I should point out that I define "god" perhaps a bit more loosely than others on NSG have in other religion discussions. I do not require massive power or omniscience or any of that sort of stuff for a being to be a god.)


^this

well, to my perception, we live in a very strange universe, that while statistical in nature, and totally, in and of itself, impersonal, in no way excludes the possible existence of just about anything.

I think I'm more of an agnostic than anything else, although I have both Atheist and a Panentheism tendencies. On the one hand, I don't believe in any of the "major" religions, or the deities they represent, yet I do think there are things not explainable by science, definetly. Also, if any of the gods were somehow proven to exist, I would most likely not worship them, as if there is a god, or gods, they either really don't give a shit about the world, or as someone else mentioned, have a very dark sense of humour.

However, and this is where the panentheism comes in, I certainly find it more believable to say that, if there is some great, "other", its not some supreme sentient being, but more a combination of the spirits of the living things on the earth. (Or fuck, the earth itself for all I know)

When it comes right down to it, the main thing I believe, is that humans quite simply don't know, and they probably never will.

I don't believe in the existance of god(s), but i'm not sure. However, i am sure that if god(s) exist(s), they are uninvolved. So, what does that make me?

A classical epicurean.

Monotheist and wondering if I haven't seen this thread or something similar a billion times already..

In my time here (under my various guises) I can't think of a time when I saw this particular thread. There have been a lot that have the title theism, but are actually about whether Jehovah is what the Fundamentalists say He is or not.

I usually describe myself as an agnostic theist, though my particular theistic beliefs have monotheism and panentheism as components.

if i wasn't an atheist, i'd definitely be an animist

I picked polytheist because, although I refuse to let go of a fundamental skepticism that causes me to question just about everything, I typically say that I believe there are many gods. Potentially, infinite gods.

I am almost a pantheist, because I see all things that exist as manifestations of divine spirit, but I do not think that divine spirit is itself a being or or a consciousness, rather it is the "stuff" of existence. So that means, it's not a god. Rather, gods are manifestations of it, too. So, not a pantheist.

And sort of a henotheist because, although there are potentially infinite gods, in my spiritual belief system, it is not necessary to worship all of them. You just worship/venerate the ones that help you regularly, and make special worship/veneration/offering to those whose help you need only once or intermittently.

But those are really just modifiers to "polytheist" for me.

(However, I should point out that I define "god" perhaps a bit more loosely than others on NSG have in other religion discussions. I do not require massive power or omniscience or any of that sort of stuff for a being to be a god.)

Let me be the second person to say "this".

Polytheistic panentheist - I believe in many gods which result from concepts and ideals from nature and humanity. So they are part of this world, not above it, and a part of all of us.

I also have tinges of duotheism to my beliefs (which is one you did miss out :p) - making a typical wiccan/neo-pagan really on that level.

leaning atheist. My problem is I want to believe yet jaded cynicism prevents it. But I digress

Agnostic atheist, but not in the sense its used in the OP. In the sense that I don't think we're ever going to know if there's some kind of omnipotent, omnipresent, god-like.....thingy out there.

Misotheism, sort of. I believe that there is a god of some sort, but that it is so completely alien and indifferent to us that we will never understand it. The best we can hope for is that this god doesn't decide to snuff out the sun or start changing the Universe's physical laws around to suit its own purposes.

Misotheism, sort of. I believe that there is a god of some sort, but that it is so completely alien and indifferent to us that we will never understand it. The best we can hope for is that this god doesn't decide to snuff out the sun or start changing the Universe's physical laws around to suit its own purposes.

Misotheism just means you hate God.

Misotheism just means you hate God.
You think ants are happy when small children pour water onto their hills or capture them and stuff them in jars?
Normally, I'd describe my beliefs as maltheism, but even that doesn't really cover it. The god can't be malevolent for the same reason it can't be benevolent. From the perspective of the infinite, anything that exists within time would be meaningless, absurd or ugly.

Ignostic - discussion of theism is meaningless as there has not been a sufficient definition, and theism is by it's very nature undefinable.

As close as I can come to understanding the various given definitions of theism, my belief or disbelief is entierly unimportant, and hence I'm unconcerned with such issues.

You think ants are happy when small children pour water onto their hills or capture them and stuff them in jars?
Normally, I'd describe my beliefs as maltheism, but even that doesn't really cover it. The god can't be malevolent for the same reason it can't be benevolent. From the perspective of the infinite, anything that exists within time would be meaningless, absurd or ugly.

I repeat, being a misotheist means bearing a strong hatred for God; if you do not, then you are not a misotheist. The world literally means "hatred of God" in Greek.

I don't believe in the existance of god(s), but i'm not sure. However, i am sure that if god(s) exist(s), they are uninvolved. So, what does that make me?

Agnostic. Not believing in god(s) in the most vague sense, or to have no particular belief is agnostic.

Atheism, to seperate the two, is the direct belief that no god(s) exists. If you have no strong belief, or merely believe that god(s) doesn't seem particularly likely, then you are agnostic.

I repeat, being a misotheist means bearing a strong hatred for God; if you do not, then you are not a misotheist. The world literally means "hatred of God" in Greek.
I'm not very good at hatred to be honest (I haven't the sort of patience or serious set of mind it requires), but to the extent that I can hate anything, I hate god.

Atheist. However, if some kind of deity did exist, it would to me, likely be one that the deist believe in; a god that is simply out there and nothing more. If I wasn't an Atheist and did believe in some kind of supreme force, I would personally lean toward Pantheism, along the lines of Greek mythology, as gods and goddesses rip with sin, and fault yet are immortal seem more plausible to me. It would be inevitable that one of them would likely manifest in some way shape or form (see: Zeus), thus proving existence.

I'm not very good at hatred to be honest (I haven't the sort of patience or serious set of mind it requires), but to the extent that I can hate anything, I hate god.

"Credo in un Dio crudel"?