So I am a Pantheist(Buddhist/Taoist to be exact) yet I have been looking into Paganism (not wicca) while I was researching what I orinally set out to research(Gods of my ancestors) I came across the Greek Pantheaon and religon. I have been really looking to this one more seriously. But I have two questions. 1. Soft Polytheism and Pantheism, which is all gods seen as fascets of one God and That God is all and is in everything. These go togther well but for some reason It seems to be, how should I say it, not right to believe this unless your a wiccan of somekind. I'm told that beliving this is disrepectful to the Gods and the peopel that belived in them. Usually I'm told this by reconstructioists and "hard polytheists". Is this true? Is it worng to veiw all Gods as One? 2. I'm not Greek. No Greek blood here at all. Is it proper to worship the Greek Pantheaon even if your not Greek?
Not sure about all Gods=One God. However I think it is great when some worship or honor the Gods of their ancestors in some instances it's not required. Look at Christianity& Judaism. Not all who believe have middle eastern bloodlines. Some may not know or are able to trace ALL ancestors. Look at me I am a White woman raised in Africa!!
1. Everyone has their own thoughts on the matter. You just have to find your own truth. Worship is between you and the Gods, if you know what you believe and why that's really all that counts. [maybe I should put 'this is my opinion, feel free to form your own, seriously it's all the same to me' before every post but that'd be tedious to type, lol] 2. If those are the Gods that speak to you, then yes. Same with the above really. I've been drawn to the Norse pantheon since childhood, but fought it because that didn't see 'right'. Feel a bit frustrated by that because I could have better channeled my energies these past few years. Oh well, it's all a learning curve.
It's your path. Why do you care what the hard polytheists think since it's not what you believe? It's like asking apple if you're being a good orange.
It isn't "wrong" to view them as one..but it serves no purpose...if you want to worship the duality of nature (like wiccans), then worship the duality of nature and leave all the other gods out of it...you dont have to mush them all into one. If you aren't Greek, but for some reason like the Greek pantheon, look into others closer to yours...Are you Indo-European at all? If so, then the Greek is just a different version of any other IndoEuropean core belief...different in interpretation, myth, and cultural additive, but the core is the same. So..with that, what is your ancestry?
I don't veiw things as Duality, I view things as One. It does, in fact, serve a purpose. Being that i hope to become selfless and realize that all is one and therby end suffering. Because God is so incompheisble you need to personify God so that you can worship God more easily. I am German, Ukrainian, and Irish.
well then why be concerned with the Greek pantheon? it's just another personification of god in human form(s) by this logic.
So you're really liking the Eastern stuff and looking to move into paganism. Might I suggest researching both Shinto and what ever your local indigenous cultural beliefs are. They kinda segue into each other nicely.
OK...so...apparently you missed what I was trying to say.... By saying that "it serves no purpose", what I meant was that if you worship that "one divine source", then do so...dont worry of pantheons and "all gods are one god" ideals.. But, as a Buddhist, the word "god" should not even be in your vocabulary...there is no "god" there is no "self" there is no "one"...there is nothing we perceive that is "real"....or so says the buddha...
But like i said, God needs to be personifyed so you can relate to God as a person rather than just a "Oness" or "Ultimate realtiy". In Buddhism "God" could be said to be Nirvana or/and the empitness that underlines existance(there is a thread on this in the Buddhism forum). However this does not help you develope the personal ascpect of your religon. The closest thing to a personfying thing in Buddhism is Buddha himself but he is not really a God more like someone who has relalized and embodies God. Hence I seek out the personal aspect in the Greek patheaon.
The thing is, that originally one's religion was based on where you grew up. In the ancient world the idea that a foreigner's religion was inherently wrong just didn't happen unless there was some other factor involved. After Alexander there was a much greater flexibility where religions weren't quite as regional as they were before, although that element was still there. Thus you found temples of Isis in Britain and Mithra who was Persian was one of the largest religions in the Roman empire. Christianity was started as a Jewish cult and pretty quickly grew outside of those bounds. So that being said, almost no one anymore (with a few exceptions) is actually practicing a literal ancestral religion. Most Christians aren't of Jewish decent, and many Hindus and Buddhists aren't Indian and Asian. I practice a philosophy based on Hermetic, Neo-Platonic, and planetary worship, but it manifests outwardly as Hellenistic/Roman, Egyptian, Afro/Cuban, and Mesopotamian. And yet as far as I know I am none of these at least directly by descent. On the other hand, while I am not certain of my descent, I am almost certainly French, British, and Irish and I could care less about anything Celtic.
Just because one is Irish does not mean their ancestors were the Celts Just like Italians are not decendants of the Romans. Did that make any sense?
The Celts is a term which means the people from that region. Granted there is some variety religious-wise. It just isn't terribly interesting to me. Remember "Celt" is a group not a religion. It's like using the term "Semetic". A comparison to Italy isn't the same thing. Italy had (I think) about three major areas at one time, but the Romans took it over, so it became more homogenized eventually. Even before there wasn't as big a variety as the Celts. Same thing goes for Egypt where their gods spilled over the border a little, but there was some variety ranging from the north to the south, but not THAT much variety. It was all recognizable.
Yes, this is true. I'm still learning. Sadly growing us in a F***ed up country were media & many books were banned or limited. History had become so facinating to me but I'm soooo far behind LOL
So that being said, almost no one anymore (with a few exceptions) is actually practicing a literal ancestral religion. Most Christians aren't of Jewish decent, and many Hindus and Buddhists aren't Indian and Asian. Most (Christians) Of European decent have Pagan ancestors? I would assume. No?
If you go back far enough everyone has pagan ancertors. It's just a question of how many years (or centuries). Have you looked into ancestor worship? It seems to go very well with buddism.
