New Gods?

[Halcyon]

Does any one here venerate gods/goddesses from fantasy, or that they have imagined themselves, or that perhaps are a fusion of two or more gods/goddesses?

Or does anyone know of people who do?

What do you think of this concept - of worshipping newly "created" gods?

Personally, i don't see anything wrong in it as, IMHO, all ancient gods had a similar beginning, they've just been established longer.

 

[Gentoo]

I've heard of people who believe in the Valar, the god-like figures in the Silmarillion. I see nothing wrong with it, sometimes I'm guilty of including the Valar in my representations of the God and Goddess

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Does any one here venerate gods/goddesses from fantasy, or that they have imagined themselves, or that perhaps are a fusion of two or more gods/goddesses?

Or does anyone know of people who do?

What do you think of this concept - of worshipping newly "created" gods?

Personally, i don't see anything wrong in it as, IMHO, all ancient gods had a similar beginning, they've just been established longer.

I believe in a god I created myself.

I should say that I believe in an image of a god I created myself. While I cannot say whether or not a physical god actually exists, I cannot disbelieve in God. So, in order to make God fit into my existence, I created an image of what It is (or may be) that works with my worldview.

 

[Lux et Umbra]

Does any one here venerate gods/goddesses from fantasy, or that they have imagined themselves, or that perhaps are a fusion of two or more gods/goddesses?
Or does anyone know of people who do?
What do you think of this concept - of worshipping newly "created" gods?
Personally, i don't see anything wrong in it as, IMHO, all ancient gods had a similar beginning, they've just been established longer.

Lucky I saw this thread because I was going to make one about the same thing! I hope there can be more discussion about this.

I personally believe all of the gods were created by humans to explain the world, universe and existance (this doesn't mean that I reject the idea of god). They were a way for the ancients to connect with and understand their world, a world of mystery. I've tried polytheism (soft and hard) and seeing the gods literally, but I can't-- it didn't mesh well with me no matter how hard I tried (and boy did I try). I see the gods as metaphors, symbols and archetypes. Though I don't think that the gods are completely interchangeable. I recognize their similarities and their differences in their culture, history, rituals, myths etc. Anyway. Because of my view I don't see anything wrong with one honoring non traditonal deities as I believe traditional ones started the same way. I see the idea of god as a distant, unknowable force much like Brahman so these deities that I see as symbols are just manifestations of various aspects of this force. A deity that someone creates can be powerful symbol and more personal than any traditonal deity because everything about it means something to you.

I'm part of a Pagan message board as well and I have seen a few people that do honor a non traditonal pantheon. They're either gods that they knowningly created or gods that can't be linked to any traditonal deity and are therefore a mystery. I don't think the practice is too common though. Some people have a hard time connecting to ancient gods as well and turn to other avenues.

I've always wondered with the drastic change from ancient times to modern why new deities were popping up all over.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Lux, I'm getting more and more intruiged with your personality and wisdom with every post I read! I think you're going to be a great asset to RF!

I think that recently created gods are just as valid to the believer as the 'older' ones. I've thought about trying to create one, myself, but most of the reasons I would want to create one for are already covered in pre-existing gods or goddesses. (Well, at least the goddesses. I'm still trying to figure out what qualities I'd like in a god.)

 

[Lux et Umbra]

Lux, I'm getting more and more intruiged with your personality and wisdom with every post I read! I think you're going to be a great asset to RF!

Thanks!

I think that recently created gods are just as valid to the believer as the 'older' ones. I've thought about trying to create one, myself, but most of the reasons I would want to create one for are already covered in pre-existing gods or goddesses. (Well, at least the goddesses. I'm still trying to figure out what qualities I'd like in a god.)

I thought of creating my own as well, but I never got around to it.
I've always had a clearer idea of the goddesses, than the gods too.

 

[Mike182]

the guy i'm living with next year is a Chaos Magician, and his beliefs about the divine and heavenly realms and the like are all based on dreams he's had.

 

[BFD_Zayl]

It's possible, if you have ever played oblivion then you know they included an extensive religion in it, along with cults. and the major religion within the game has some extremly good points. the gods i myself worship are ancient, Hades,Hecate, and Thanatos (Hence, the Dread Tribune

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Is that the Elder Scrolls game, BFD?

While I don't have her as part of my personal pantheon quite, one of the goddesses I love is Terry Prattchett's Anoia. A good description of her can be found (as always) on the Almighty Wiki.

The minor goddess of Things That Stick in Drawers, Anoia is praised by rattling a drawer and crying "How can it close on the damned thing but not open with it? Who bought this? Do we ever use it?" She also eats corkscrews and is responsible for Things Down The Backs of Sofas. She is considering moving into stuck zips. The Maccalariat family of Ankh-Morpork have been Anoians for five generations. She is not part of the number of gods praised at the Temple of Small Gods, but instead has a freelance priestess who also serves for various other minor deities. Thud! refers to a painting of Anoia Rising From The Cutlery (probably a parody of Titian's Venus Rising From The Sea).

 

[YmirGF]

I have created a fully non-religious vision of God. This vision does not seek, require or condone worship of any kind. All this vision wants is companionship and it doesn't care how one gets to meet it, as the purpose is in the meeting of minds and an end to its isolation and loneliness. Admittedly, it is a bizarre perception to look into those eyes and see your own reflection looking back at you.

I have begun to finally settle on a suitable name for my daft vision of “god” but I am inclined to call it quite simply, “You”. Due to the inherent nature of Oneness is there a better name?

 

[Willamena]

I have begun to finally settle on a suitable name for my daft vision of “god” but I am inclined to call it quite simply, “You”. Due to the inherent nature of Oneness is there a better name?

The obvious response to that is "me". *grin*

 

[thewanderer]

I think everybody has their own interpretation of their pantheon. I don't see how it could be possible that two people could see any god or goddess the same way. For example, I don't see the Goddess as an entity... More of a life force of nature.

 

[Lux et Umbra]

I think everybody has their own interpretation of their pantheon. I don't see how it could be possible that two people could see any god or goddess the same way. For example, I don't see the Goddess as an entity... More of a life force of nature.

That is true, I think everyone has their own view and image of their deity/deities...even traditonal ones. Though with traditional ones it usually falls into a very similar image/package.

Though, everyone who honors a traditional god or goddess like say The Morrigan and Hekate are all seeing her in a very similar way. The myths, rituals, history, image are all very similar with minor changes to allow for personal worship and relationship (and path, say Recon vs Neo, etc). For some Hekate might be more protective and for others more distant, but she's still Hekate with the same Hellenic role, image (paintings, statues, symbols) and myths. See what I mean? So it's entirely possible for many people to see a deity the same way. On the other message board I'm on (it's mostly Pagan) a lot of the Recons view The Morrigan the same exact way. There's nothing wrong with that and it's possible.

With untraditional deities, there is no record of them anywhere in history or myth, no unifying aspect like the other deities in ancient times. They were either consciously created by the person (maybe because no traditional deities appealed to them or called to them or because they wanted something more meaningful and personal to them, etc) or these unknown/untraditional deities are either new deities, or old ones in a new form with a new image and name or perhaps they were there all along and for whatever reason were never known like the others. Either way there is a difference in traditional deities and unknown/untraditional ones.

...and I'm not sure what my point was...

 

[Papersock]

[SIZE=+0]This concept intrigues me. I've never really thought of it seriously before. I may have to come up with a story about it sometime.[/SIZE]

 

[lilithu]

Does any one here venerate gods/goddesses from fantasy, or that they have imagined themselves, or that perhaps are a fusion of two or more gods/goddesses?

Or does anyone know of people who do?

What do you think of this concept - of worshipping newly "created" gods?

Personally, i don't see anything wrong in it as, IMHO, all ancient gods had a similar beginning, they've just been established longer.

I guess I created a deity while I was in my "bible writing" phase. I wanted to create a myth that justified my veneration for the year - the solstices and equinoxes. There already are a lot of stories about the year of course, but I wanted a version that was stripped of particular elements that did not speak to me. So I had to write my own version, with a deity that was a composite of other "yearly" deities. But I don't really worship this deity. I remain very aware of the fact that I created the deity story because of the rituals, and not the other way around.

 

[KSojourner]

That is true, I think everyone has their own view and image of their deity/deities...even traditonal ones. Though with traditional ones it usually falls into a very similar image/package.

Though, everyone who honors a traditional god or goddess like say The Morrigan and Hekate are all seeing her in a very similar way. The myths, rituals, history, image are all very similar with minor changes to allow for personal worship and relationship (and path, say Recon vs Neo, etc). For some Hekate might be more protective and for others more distant, but she's still Hekate with the same Hellenic role, image (paintings, statues, symbols) and myths. See what I mean?

I think it all comes down to how you relate to the deity or deities that you feel closest to. Each person is going to have a slightly different relationship with their gods. Kind of in the same way that you would have a slightly different relationship between different friends.

Going back to the original question: Have I "made up" or "created" my own "god?" No, I haven't. I don't feel that there is a need to do so. I also feel that it would be....well....rude to the gods that I do have a relationship with.

I guess I would say that there have been "people" that I have "made up" (kinda akin to the imaginary childhood friend) that I have had a type of dialouge with. But I never thought of them as gods/higher beings. As I got older, I realized that it was almost like talking to different aspects of myself; as if different parts of myself were being used individually to solve a certain problem. It was a type of self-talk.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that gods were essentially made up anyway. I would have to disagree. Abraham Maslow brings up a good point in his book Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences. As people have religious or spiritual experiences, they don't necessarily have the words to explain their experiences. They try to explain by way of words, but as words are imperfect, it is difficult to explain those experiences.

I think that gods do "reveal" themselves during these types of experiences. (By reveal, I don't necessarily mean that a god walks up to you and says "Hi! I'm .....") But as it is difficult for people to explain what happened to them, they have to find ways to explain or label their experience. How we "label" or what words we use when talking about our beliefs are based off those experiences.

However, with that being said, I wouldn't go around saying that people can't come up with their version of their god/s and how they relate to them, which is basically what I see happening rather then people "making up" their own gods.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

t's possible, if you have ever played oblivion then you know they included an extensive religion in it, along with cults.

The detalied religion is in all Elder Scrolls game. I find it fascinating that the game designers worked it out to every last detail like that. I also remember an RF member that had something like Sheogorath follower as his listed religion.

 

[Mike182]

i'm surprised Kuthuluh and HP Lovecraft haven't been mentioned

i'm not quite sure what my personal take on this is, on one hand i think it's just another, more personal way of conceptialising God, but on the other hand it's really no different to all the other Gods that i believe exist...

 

[BFD_Zayl]

The detalied religion is in all Elder Scrolls game. I find it fascinating that the game designers worked it out to every last detail like that. I also remember an RF member that had something like Sheogorath follower as his listed religion.

omg, in oblivion you get to talk to sheogorath, and he has you do a little mission, that ends with hundreds of combusting dogs raining from a red sky....plus his followers are funny "i used to be a dog, but i'm better now...not a better dog, im a horrible dog..woof"

 

[michel]

I believe in a god I created myself.

I should say that I believe in an image of a god I created myself. While I cannot say whether or not a physical god actually exists, I cannot disbelieve in God. So, in order to make God fit into my existence, I created an image of what It is (or may be) that works with my worldview.

That begs the question; " Don't we all believe in our own God?" - and, by that, I include all Faiths............

After all, I have my understanding of "God" and though it may well differ from someone else's (because of my own personal interpretation), it is likely that we are all talking about one and the same.