What do you believe exactly?

[Theweirdtophat]

I was wondering exactly what you believe in, when it comes to deities, nature, the universe/multiverse, spirits, the afterlife, deities/prophets ect.


I'm a Druid who believes almost all of the deities existed at one point in time While I think they are powerful and intelligent, I don't think they were deities or had a thing to do with creation of the Earth or universe. I think they are aliens other or other dimensional entities but not creators. I think they made us what we are but didn't create us from scratch. I believe this explains our unexpected jump in evolution when many humans in the prehistoric era and messed around with tools, looked different and didn't really have a concept of "civilization" yet when Sumer came, all of a sudden humans had a concept of math, science, magic ect, when before they were living in caves and had very primitive tools. I believe he deities of old had something to do with it, but I don't think it's necessary to worship them or offer "sacrifices" of ale, corn, ect. Simply learning from them and showing respect for them if they are a noble, ethical and morally decent deity.


I don't worship deities and I am more interested in working with nature spirits, like animal, plant and stone spirits, as I am an animist. I believe each soul is different and unique. I don't think we are all just part of a deity or inside a deity. I believe we are all made of the same stuff but not necessarily the same and are individual. I believe that while we aren't automatically connected, we can become connected. Such as with the Bible, where in marriage it's explained that the two fleshes become one.


I believe if there is a source of creation, there might be more and not just one source. I believe in the Otherworld but also afterlives and stages within those afterlives. I believe in the afterlife, karma and reincarnation. If someone did more good than bad in their life, they see other afterlives, see more of the universe, and have an easier time contacting mortals and reincarnate. I believe the universe was never really created and won't be destroyed as everything gets recycled into something eventually. If someone did more bad than good in their life, the accumulated too much negativity and kind of remain in limbo and end up suffering and when they feel remorse of their actions, they reincarnate but start lower on the totem pole, so to speak.


I believe in magic as well as science and that magic is another way of working with energy. I like plant magic and believe that working with both magic and science helps us understand more of the universe. Speaking of which, I think there is more than one universe and dimension.


I believe in working with energy and I am not interested in trying to bend energy to my will and command it to do whatever I wish as I believe it's ineffective and usually ends up in serious consequences. I believe every religion has its own magic but really as long as people follow the morally right and ethical path than it doesn't really matter what religion they follow.

What about you?

 

[Jainarayan]

I'm a hard polytheist pluralist Germanic Heathen. Specifically I'm Ásatrúar - I follow the Norse pantheon, with Thor as my fulltrui ("go-to" god). I believe in and respect deities from many traditions, though I may not worship them - Hindu, Buddhist, Greek, Roman, Celtic,Taoist, African, etc. They are all real beings who rule their own Otherworlds and have their own followers. I do not believe the are all manifestations of one reality or one supreme god.

I've become more aware of ancestor and wight veneration, and am practicing (or trying to) accordingly.

We have individual souls, and may be reborn. Heathens on the whole don't concern themselves with the afterlife because we can't know what it's like. I'll know when I get there. There is no judgement of our souls. What happens to us is governed by orlog, universal laws, and our own wyrd, sort of like karma, but with a twist... a Buddhist concept called dependent origination as Thich Nhat Hanh calls it. Everything affects everything else.

We try to live this life according to a certain code of ethics, which places the community and "tribe" (family, friends) above all else. Even a person who lives alone, and lives the loneliest life possible has a tribe... all the people they deal with day to day (auto mechanic, doctor, grocer, etc.), as well as the ancestors and other spirits. We're all in this together.

The gods don't micromanage. Some people say the gods don't pay any attention to us as individuals, only as a community in community rituals and gatherings, but I don't believe that. I think they do take an interest in us personally. Not hovering around like guardian angles, but they're there if we need them.

There is a creation story, and and end of the world story, but I doubt anyone takes them literally. Beyond the stories there's really no interest in pondering the creation of end of the universe, where it came from or where it's going. It has no bearing on the here and now.

 

[Laika]

I was wondering exactly what you believe in, when it comes to deities, nature, the universe/multiverse, spirits, the afterlife, deities/prophets ect.

To the best of my knowledge and ability I do not believe in God. it is however neither absolute and unconditional but it dependent on the fact I am a materialist. Materialism carries a burden of proof which I struggle to meet [particuarly given the large number of topics it could be applied to] and figure out exactly what it is, but as a working hypothesis, pretty much everything follows on from there.

Despite having a great deal of respect for science, this philosophy often conflicts with existing scientific ideas; it would require a major 'paradigm shift' for it to be taken seriously but I'm comfortable taking the risk based on the hunch it may be closer to the truth. My belief system is therefore full of a great many "holes" as materialism (particuarly it's Marxist varient) hasn't been taken seriously outside the communist bloc- and there are good reasons for scepticism when treating ideas from soviet sources as political ideology often came ahead of scientific facts (most notoriously in the Lyenskoism in agriculture and biology). For that reason I tend to take a slow, cautious approach and read a variety of sources to make up my mind. I have to get along as best I can as it is intellectually ambitious, but thats also an invitation to life-long learning (which is fine by me ).

By default I don't believe in a multi-verse as it is not consistent with materialism (the same goes for the big bang).If there is no god and no creator, matter exists and has always existed. it should logically follow that the universe has- in one sense or another- has always been here. I object to a multiverse on the basis that there is only one 'universe' directly perceptable to our senses; ours.

Both nature and society evolved and were governed by natural laws. the developed from lower to higher forms of organisation. you'll notice this conflicts with the idea of no beginning to the universe, and on that I am not able to offer an explanation on that. thats too big for me to find out on my own.

I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a soul, as consciousness is simply the result of brain acitivity, so it follows that there can be no afterlife. That has been very tricky as it has a potentially nihilistic conclusion that death is oblivion. In a sense it isn't; we have an 'afterlife' in so far as our actions have consequenes on the physical world and that these outlive our own physical being. The sense of making a contribution to mankind is also a strange way of achieving some sense of immortality or a 'higher power' outside of yourself with will endure beyond my own existence.

I haven't look into spirits, but I would assume that if there is evidence they can be explained by a natural pheneomena; perhaps one we haven't figured out yet. that would also fit my beliefs around the afterlife.

On prophets, I would say that someone like Jesus and Muhammd, Buddha etc, were real historical figures who sincerely believed what they said. exact historical accounts are sketchy (outside of religious texts) but I am more than willing to entertain the idea that they were extraordinary people in extraordinary times and that their ideas satisfied a wider need which meant they spread rapidly. societies go through periods of crisis, and in the midst of that some people see an oppurtunity. I don't take seriously the idea that they performed miracles or had supernatural abilities, but I think that some of this can be explained that for a great deal of time people may have believed dreams and hallucincations were real (they feel perfectly real when you have them and its only after the event you can really question them.)

I don't believe in magic, though I'm just as much as a sucker for magic tricks as anyone else. that innocent child-like feeling of awe is a good reminder of who we are as species; we live to understand the unknown. As a general rule of thumb, I would say the idea of magic or the supernatural, including god, is down to inferrence; that before we had science and materialism to provide naturalistic explanations, we often used to attribute human consciousness to other properties. To believe that 'something' or 'someone' behind the scenes willed things into being or to move or work in a certian way was more plausible. Its only after a very long period of development that alternative naturalistic explanations can be offered. It's bizzare, but as a materialist you get an occassional insight into just how little we know about the world. The sense that perhaps the book on human knowledge is both open and unwritten is fulfilling and optimistic as there is- in principle-only physical limits to what we could know or develop as a species. With the right ideas and tools, anything is possible. For all its many failings and gaps, the "high" of running towards the horizion of possibilities is very hard to beat.

 

[Quintessence]

I believe that what one believes is generally less important than what one does. And, as an adherent of a religion that emphasizes practices over any sort of common creed or dogma, that is particularly the case with my own path. It is less a matter of what is "believed" than what is "acted" or "experienced."

I do not believe in humility. I experience it when I look at the worlds around me and feel a sense of sublime awe; a recognition and a realization that there are forces and power so much grander than I could ever hope to be.

I do not believe in gratitude. I express gratitude through acknowledging the sacredness of all things and dubbing them gods, but especially for the things that are of great value or importance in my life.

I do not believe in my gods. I experience my gods on a daily basis, as they are the very ground I walk and the very air I breathe.

I do not believe in the Great Cycle. I witness the turnings of the seasons every moment, through Moon Spirit's phases, the altitude of Sun Spirit, the greening and dormancy of plants, the coming to be and passing away of countless things in the apparent world.

I do not believe in the Weave. I observe how individual aspects of our reality all have relationships with one another, and that there is a fundamental interdependence and interconnection amongst them.

I do not believe in the otherworlds. I play in them on a daily basis, exploring their landscapes, meeting and greeting their denizens, and sometimes, bringing those experiences out into the apparent world through storytelling and art.

I do not believe in the arts. I practice them, taste of the cauldron of Awen, allowing inspiration to flow freely; I write stories (though often only in my head), play-act through RPGs, draw and paint and sculpt, and aim to appreciate the arts of others.

I do not believe in the sciences. I engage the sciences, using them as one stream of inspiration to know and understand my gods, as it is as endless a source of fascination as the mythos of old and tales of the folk.

I do not believe in magic. I experience seemingly inexplicable things, see acausal patterns of the Weave, allow them to speak their joys and sorrows, and find meaningfulness and power in it.

No. My religion is not particularly about believing. It is about experiencing, doing, acting, being. It's why when people ask for "proof" I scratch my head, and perhaps tell them they're missing the point or not getting it. Do you need "proof" to celebrate the stations of the sun? "Proof" to create a sculpture when inspiration grabs you? All you need is a willingness to experience. To be. And perhaps most importantly, to play and have fun.

 

[George-ananda]

My beliefs can best be described as Advaita/Hinduism. In the big picture. consciousness (Brahman) is the only thing that is real. Brahman in his creative aspect creates universes where He separates Himself from Himself (by experiencing through finite forms like us) and then returns Himself to Himself (we find Oneness, Peace).

At the more human perspective, I believe we are here to learn to return to the One by brotherly love of all. When we die, we spend a considerable time on a higher astral/mental plane reuniting with family and digesting the experiences we have had and learning to grow in love. Most people will chose to return again to the earth plane (reincarnate) to experience new opportunities to learn love and Oneness. Eventually all will drop their false separate ego identification and become whole; Brahman.

 

[Paranoid Android]

I was wondering exactly what you believe in, when it comes to deities, nature, the universe/multiverse, spirits, the afterlife, deities/prophets ect.


I believe in a single, monotheistic God. He is the God the Tanakh / Old Tesament.

I believe that God and Satan are one being. When he is positive, he is God. When he is negative, he is Satan. I believe God has D.I.D (Dissasociative Identity Disorder) and shifts between His God persona and his Satan persona.
I believe the Messianic Age will begin when the Last Prophet arrives. The Last Prophet will heal God, and the Satan persona will be destroyed. All Dementheologists will be transformed into angels. It will be the beginning of the Golden Age.
Everything in nature belongs to God or Satan. It is too firmly balanced, and he requires us to act as His pacifistic warriors. We must break the balance and CHOOSE good. We must CHOOSE to do righteous things, to make the balance tip in the side of Good.
The Universe as we live it is a snared thing. The battle which God can't win will be ultimately won by the Last Prophet. When the Golden Age, we can live Earth and settle elsewhere , so we can live in pacifistic peace. Ultimately, the Squares will kill themselves and the Earth with nucear bombs.

 

[Riverwolf]

My beliefs/practices are similar to what @Thorbjorn and @Quintessence talked about.

I follow a more Anglo-Saxon-inspired variant of Germanic polytheism/Heathenry, with Freya-Frigga, or Frowafree as I Anglicize the name of this Goddess-who-may-or-may-not-have-been-two-separate-Goddesses, quickly becoming my 'fulltrui', a term I'm not yet sure how to Anglicize. For me, that means there's elements familiar to Anglo-Celtic and modern Anglo-American cultures, but not a whole lot to do with specifically Norse Lore and culture. I do have theistic belief (hard polytheism), but it's agnostic, and I don't really believe that theism is even necessary to reform the Old Way (as I call Northern European pre-Christian traditions) for the modern world. Reason being that, similar to what Quint explained, it's more about active experience than passive belief.

The status of Godhood is given by external sources, and so is not an intrinsic quality; anything or anyone can be a God if enough people consistently agree on that status. But as for the "invisible" Gods, like Frowafree, Thunor, or Woden, they are wights, which more or less means "non-physical entity", i.e., spirit/ghost/archetype/etc by connotation and usage (though which technically means "any living thing", speaking strictly from an etymology perspective). Not all wights are Gods, or are always Gods. However, since theism isn't necessary, such things aren't terribly well-defined by virtue of being unimportant. It's really up to us as individuals and/or small groups to decide for ourselves how best to approach this topic, as long as it's pluralist. That is, our own ideas aren't to be codified into some kind of singular "standard" that MUST be adhered to.

I don't much care about what happens in the afterlife, and when it comes to the physical world, I pretty much just go with whatever the current scientific consensus is at any given time. They know about such matters way more than I do.

I regard magic as a form of psychological and behavioral manipulation, rather than physical manipulation. Specifically, manipulating how people, or one's own self, think or act by use of ritual activity and/or symbolic imagery rooted in myth and/or folklore.

 

[LuisDantas]

I believe in a flow - a cobweb, even - of mutual and shared legacies and duties, spawned by the gift of sentience.

No deities, and certainly no afterlives as such.

Edited to add: Also, I believe in morality as a skill, enabled by knowledge. The ultimate duty of religion is to teach wisdom and skillful means.

 

[ChristineES]

I am a monotheistic follower of Yeshua (aka Jesus). I am uncertain if Satan is a real entity or if he is just a symbol of our fleshly desires (which may go against God), he is called the "Accuser" in the Tanakh.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I try my best to stay away from belief by just abiding with how things are presently and proceed with that and what comes of it. I'm much more a realist than I used to be in the past.

I do have thoughts and ideas that can come very close to being a belief, yet limited to the extent of what the senses and experiences bring to the table at any givin moment.

Any belief I may harbor lies well within the realm of my dreams and thoughts. I suppose what I exactly believe essentially lies there.

 

[Muffled]

I believe God is in me to speak and do His will.

 

[jonathan180iq]

deities

Make believe

nature,

Nature...

universe/multiverse

The thing we live in

spirits,

hocus pocus

afterlife

Wishful thinking

prophets

Used car salesmen

 

[Donmax]

I believe in tomorrow and tomorrow i will say i said that yesterday.

 

[1137]

I believe that there's a "best possible path" for every single individual and that humanity's goal should be to allow and help with the finding of that path.

 

[Muffled]

Theweirdtophat said: deities jonathan said: Make believe
I believe there is enough evidence for deities to indicate that it is not fiction.

Theweirdtophat said: nature, jonathan said: Nature...

I believe that nature exists and one must deal with it as a reality but I don't believe nature has a will of its own.
Theweirdtophat said: universe/multiverse jonathan said: The thing we live in

The same as nature.
Theweirdtophat said: spirits, jonathan said: hocus pocus

I believe there is plenty of evidence to support this and there is no evidence of legerdermain except in the case of mediums.
Theweirdtophat said: afterlife jonathan said: Wishful thinking
There is plenty of evidence to support this so the assessment of wishful thinking does not apply.

Theweirdtophat said: prophets jonathan said: Used car salesmen

I believe many who purport to be prophets are but that there are those who are the real deal.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Some think that i don't worship a deity, I'm an atheist. I am definitely not an atheist as I believe in spirits the afterlife and the possibility of deities. I don't know which deities are out there but it's possible there really are god-like individuals who helped us so I don't doubt that at all, and I don't just flat out say "There are no deities" but I don't think it's necessary to worship. Just being a good person to others and yourself is good enough. I think the deities of old actually were here and interacted but I believe they weren't really creators and were just more powerful and intelligent. I could be described as having a somewhat nontheistic attitude like Buddhists and Jains but believe the afterlife and spirits are real and I work with nature spirits. I believe both religion and science benefit one another as a famous quote says "Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind."

 

[Underhill]

I believe in the power of human intelligence. Although... the presidential debates left me in doubt.

 

[1137]

I believe that there's a "best possible path" for every single individual and that humanity's goal should be to allow and help with the finding of that path.

I might not believe this anymore. We're obviously in a meat grinder full of chaos, but I still can't help but believe. Maybe the comfort and pleasure we get from spirituality is what it's all about in the first place.

Then again I'm so sick I'm going to the hospital, so I probably can't think straight.

 

[Demonslayer]

I beleve the idea of a soul and the afterlife was created by humans out of a natural fear of death. I believe all Gods, claims of reincarnation, second lives, afterlives, heaven, hell, eternal life, paradise, damnation, etc. are human invented stories that are quite frankly silly and there is no reason to believe any of it is true other than because someone wants to believe.

We are finite beings. A great and powerful being didn't create the universe for us, those who do us wrong don't get punished in some other life, and no cosmic dictator is watching down on my judging my actions and answering my cries for help.

I'm a realist.

 

[Demonslayer]

Actully....you were making some statements about me or my beliefs that were entirely in the realm of fiction.../entirely/. so, realism, is subjective, eh?

What did I say that you're refering to? I'd be happy to try and explain myself.