as far as i'm aware pagans believe in multiple gods.
do you believe in literal gods [like the christians/muslims do] or that nature etc. is godly?
that probably makes no sense...
OK.. tell me about the gods that you believe in. thanks.
2007-10-15 07:27:03 · 22 answers · asked by joe_seff 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
hector: i mean the way i worded my question made no sense.
what made you assume i think the christian and muslim gods make sense?
atheist.
2007-10-15 07:33:37 · update #1
Some pagans (hard polytheists) believe in distinct Gods, individual from each other, and existing independent of each other..
Some pagans (soft polytheists) believe that all Gods are aspects of meta deities, in that all male deities are aspects of a singular male deity, and all female deities are aspects of a singular female deity.
Some pagans (soft polytheists) believe that the male and female meta deities are aspects of a single genderless deity.
2007-10-15 07:42:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
First of all, if by pagan you mean Wiccan (modern paganism), it's a Goddess, not a god, although she has a male consort, yin and yang, male and female, sun and moon making a whole, an earthly Mother rather than a heavenly Father. Secondly, Wicca is a nature religion which posits that we are all part of the natural universe, including people, other animals, plants, the stars etc. For me personnally, the Goddess is a symbol rather than a literal person, she represents the three stages of life, virgin, mother, crone, and accepts us into her when we die to begin the cycle of life and death again, like the seasons. If you are referring to historical pagans, yes, they had multiple gods, each with their own sphere of influence, but again, I believe all of these were aspects of the same thing, a yearning for the numinous and the "why" rather than the "how" of our existence, the how being covered by science.
2007-10-15 07:36:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Greetings!
The "Gods" of the Celts were Ancestors that showed special Powers, like Danu, or seemed to be caught up in monumental events, worthy of Legend, like Dagdha.
There are Elemental Powers in the Celtic Cosmology, but these usually are not Humanised in the Greek and Roman mode, but left as being beyond Humanity.
Other Pagans usually use a personal approach to their Gods, with some being very real and immanent, and some as abstract concepts.
/!\
2007-10-15 07:41:45 · answer #3 · answered by Ard-Drui 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The word Pagan covers an extremely broad spectrum of spiritual beliefs.
They tend to be Polytheistic but include Monotheistic and Atheistic traditions.
I could never comment on what they believe as a whole, because 100 different pagans could be from 100 different traditions or variations on a tradition.
2007-10-15 07:29:14 · answer #4 · answered by Link strikes back 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
"Pagan" is a term that covers pretty much any non-Christian religion. "NeoPagan" is a more specific term that covers a group of related religions.
As a Wiccan (one of the NeoPagan faiths), I am intellectually a monotheist (all God/desses are aspects of a single unknowable Source) and functionally a duotheistic polytheist (I honor multiple God and Goddess forms that are all aspects of the ultimate God and Goddess who in turn are the closest we can get to dealing with the Source). It's also called "soft" polytheism.
The Source both is the natural world and transcends it; therefore, nature is sacred because it is the living body of the God/dess.
Other Wiccans have different opinions.
2007-10-15 07:32:48 · answer #5 · answered by prairiecrow 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think it depends on the person. Some people believe that the "Gods" are just different aspects of nature. Some believe that their "Gods" are actual figures or entities with their own personality and so forth. And still others believe that the multiple "Gods" are just different forms of the main Goddess and God. It all depends on the person and which path they follow.
2007-10-15 07:31:02 · answer #6 · answered by Lorena 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm technically an atheist, as well as a Pagan. I believe the gods are merely archetypal forces in the human nature.
However, there are many Pagans which are hard polytheists. Pretty much all of the reconstructionists religions are. (Asatru, Hellenic Recons, Celtic Recons, Kemetics, etc.)
2007-10-15 07:30:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
I'm atheist, but my pagan friends don't believe in literal gods. Some do, some don't. Some of them are actually pagans who pretend to be Christian just to get the Christians to leave them alone. That has nothing to do with your question.
2007-10-15 07:33:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
What you are missing here: BELIEVING in ONE God - we worship God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ. Period. That's one God. We may assume there are more gods out there somewhere, but we do not worship them. The Godhead consists of three Gods, but we only pray to and worship our Heavenly Father. You will still read into these quotes any way you want, whatever. We know what we believe and God knows, and that's what matters.
2016-05-22 19:13:27 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pagan is an umbrella term, covering various religions.
As a Wiccan, I worship Gods & Goddesses.
I'm an eclectic Wiccan, so I believe in Gods & Goddess from various paths. My main leanings are Celtic / Caledonian and Norse.
There is one great Goddess and one great God. They each have various aspects {such as the Triple Goddess} and are known by many names.
2007-10-15 07:31:57 · answer #10 · answered by Lady Silver Rose * Wolf 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋