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Author Topic: Nature of "the divine"?  (Read 6922 times)
Didgeridoo
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« Topic Start: December 28, 2007, 01:29:31 pm »

Well, I'm not sure if I should place this here or under Gods, Goddess, etc. But for now here will do.

First a quick definition. When I use the term “the divine” I mean whatever you conceive of as the gods or higher spiritual beings.

I have found on this forum a diversity of opinions on the actual nature of the divine. It has peaked my curiosity and I would like to see more discussion on this issue so let me pose some questions about to you wonderful people.

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?

2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I think these four questions should given a basic framework of how everyone conceives of the divine. And will help me to understand the way other people think when I'm debating with them.



To be fair, I shall answer my own questions below.

1.I think of the divine as a distinct, interdependent being. In that I mean, God does not humanity or any specific element to exist but God is within all of existence and permeates everything. As such God is dependent on existence as a whole but not on a specific facet of existence.
   
1a. No. I believe God is a unique, non-human created entity. I believe the representations of God are human made, but God itself is beyond that.

2.I communicate impersonally. I open my heart and mind to let my concerns, joys, etc out into the world but with no conscious attempt to speak to God. I do not perform specific rituals as I do not think them necessary. I believe that as the divine is ever-present my concerns, blessings, etc are always heard.

3.I try to expect nothing but I have become accustom to transcendentalist experiences of awe and oneness with the universe. So while I would like to be free from any petition prayer leanings, “God give me this for this”, I'm not quite there yet.

4. I believe there is one divine. However I believe there as many valid ways to interpret the divine as there are people on the earth. Other interpretations, usually more specific ones, I believe are perfectly healthy and natural attempts to understand the divine in all its complexity. So while I accept and acknowledge the differences in interpretations of the divine, I believe they ultimately point to the same source of the divine.

So that does it for me. Who's next and any questions?
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« Reply #1: December 28, 2007, 02:07:35 pm »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

I believe in the Gods as separate, distinct entities.  I'm not entirely clear on whether they are dependent upon us in any way or not.  I don't think so, although I'm not 100% on that.

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1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?

No.

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I'm not sure I quite understand what you're getting at with the indirect stuff, but I think I'd say a mix of both?  That's how I personally work, though.  When you get into "is it enough" in a more general sense, I'd have to say there's not really an overall rule that covers it very well.  What is or isn't enough is going to vary from person to person, depending on each individual's relationship with their deity/ies.

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

The question is a foreign mindset to me, so I suppose "nothing".  I haven't gotten into this to get something out of it; I've felt drawn in this direction, and I'm following that where it leads me, is all.  *shrug*

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking.  I believe in many Gods, many pantheons, though I only worship in one pantheon myself.  If that doesn't answer what you're asking, you'll have to clarify, I guess.

I don't believe it's subjective.  I do believe there is an objective correct answer to what form the divine takes.  That said, I certainly can't prove that my answer is the right one.  I believe it to be, but can present no evidence.  Which is fine with me; I feel no drive to convince or convert anyone else.
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« Reply #2: December 28, 2007, 02:10:36 pm »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?

A bit of both, actually. I see the Divine as an impersonal energy force that permeates all of creation...rather like The Force or the Tao. However, I do believe that over the millenia, humankind has formed "gods" from this energy through a collective need to explain the unexplanable. I believe that there are probably about as many deities are there are people since even with well-established deities, there are varying views of them. To use an analogy, it's like electricity...it can be accessed and used for millions of uses and even if two people are using electricity for the same things (lights, TV, cooking, etc) they way it is being used is different for each person.

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I think that whatever works for each person is enough. Some may tap into the Divine through prayer, ritual, offerings, etc...while others may get in touch through just walking down the street, taking in creation.

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

I don't expect anything from the Divine because I don't believe that it has any sort of obligation to us.

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

Both...see previous answers. And your answer pretty much sums it up for me too:

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4. I believe there is one divine. However I believe there as many valid ways to interpret the divine as there are people on the earth. Other interpretations, usually more specific ones, I believe are perfectly healthy and natural attempts to understand the divine in all its complexity. So while I accept and acknowledge the differences in interpretations of the divine, I believe they ultimately point to the same source of the divine.
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« Reply #3: December 28, 2007, 03:22:54 pm »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

I've not quite made my mind up about this one yet! It's something that I debate often. One half of me views the divine as an independant being, and the other half of me views it as something created by the minds of humans- for instance I view my Goddess in female human form.

2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I recite little prayers of my own. Whenever I ask for help or guidance, I always recite a little prayer afterwards- as a small offering. I rarely do formalised rituals, but I do feel the need to be in a certain state of mind whenever I offer my prayers to the divine.

3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

I don't expect anything. But I *hope* that I will receive the help and guidance that the divine feels that I need.

4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I believe there is only one divine. For instance, I don't believe that all the religions in the world worship separate beings, I believe that they are all worshipping the one divine. The fact that the world's religions all contradict each other on so many aspects of belief has nothing at all to do with the divine- but rather human's perception of the divine. And of course there is some stuff that is just completely made up. I don't for one minute believe that some of the 'religious scriptures' out there are directly or indirectly the word of God. They're the words of humans.
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« Reply #4: December 28, 2007, 03:30:28 pm »


When I say The Divine, I mean the self-aware universe.  Including everything - that means us, the chairs we're sitting on, the stars far away and the dust under our feet.  Everything.

I also believe in gods, intermediaries the Divine has created to communicate with us because the totality is a bit too much for our brains to handle.  They are as real as we are, though they exist differently, and they are more aware of the Divine.

As far as communication?  The gods talk to me.  I encourage it because it gives me a sense of making the world better, something that's deeply important to me.  If I was asked to do something I thought was wrong, I wouldn't do it, so I'm not too worried about the insanity aspect.  (Sure, I hear voices, but I don't listen to them! Cheesy )

As far as what I expect - I expect connection.  If I see myself as Divine and the people around me as Divine, the differences become both holy and less important than the similarities.  I am Divine.  So are you.  I must, then, treat you as such, even if I don't want to.  (doesn't mean I have to like what you're doing, of course.  There are parts of the Divine that can be real assholes.  But they're still Divine.).
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« Reply #5: December 28, 2007, 08:15:52 pm »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? <snip> If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?
I think the true divine is independent of anything. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if some more localized entities or whatever, being worshiped as gods, depend somewhat on humankind. Maybe. I believe there is divine energy (and therefore, the divine) pretty much everywhere.

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)
My interaction right now is probably more indirect. Will certainly be getting more direct in the future hopefully. I don't necessarily think one is better than the other. Communication with gods are probably more for the benefit of the human, so if they "get what they need" out of either way, then great.

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)
I expect nothing in the way of changes in my life by the goodwill of the divine. My life is for all intensive purposes under my control. I may be smiled on, I suppose, but if I want something, I'm going to be sure I get it for myself. I "expect" more of a experiential state, as you put it.

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?
I believe the "all gods are one god" bit, in the sense that all gods are divine as all people are humans. NOT in the sense that all gods are one god like all people are the same person. lol. Smiley So they are essentially the same type of energy or however you wish to put it, but they *are* separate entities.
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« Reply #6: December 28, 2007, 09:59:17 pm »


1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?
2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?


1.  They are distict /independent beings.  But that does not rule out the human belief/worship does not have an effect on how they interact with the human world

2.  For me indirest for the most part.

3.  not sure I can answer that

4.Many   Some may be similar to others but distinct.
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« Reply #7: December 29, 2007, 01:17:56 am »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

I'm a hard polytheist, so I believe they're all separate. To what extent they interact where we can't see is a mystery but funny to imagine. What do they run on? I think a mix of our belief and their own power. If they were completely dependent on us for their existence, then they wouldn't be gods but having followers would definitely give things a boost.

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1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?

We construct the gods to the extent that our brains process them into images and sensations that we can understand but they are real and independent of this.

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I'm still sorting this one out. I find structured ritual quite hard without a group of people around or a memory of a ritual to start from so I've mostly kept things quiet. I've been trying to think at Them a lot and writing my concerns and feelings on my computer where I guess they can see them seems to be helping. What's been really neat lately is I'll be reading a book, usually a work of fiction and a concept will be introduced that makes me think. As I'm putting my jewellry away for the night (and bending down) a clue-by-four will hit me and suddenly I feel like I have new insights.

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

First off, weal or woe? Hunh?

I expect little things to change to make it easier for me to accomplish what I need. F'ex, the bus I'm running for stays an extra minute so that I can mull over something spiritually related instead of fuming about being late for work. As for experiential states, they kinda come out of nowhere for me. But I like 'em!

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I've come to the conclusion that I can't really limit divine experience by saying one exists and the other doesn't - I simply don't have the necessary insight.
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« Reply #8: December 29, 2007, 06:46:34 am »



1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?




1. I believe that there is a unifying energy/force what ever you wish to call it that is not an independent entity, not a god. I also believe that there are independently existing deities who exist in more dimensions than we do and have more access, for want of a better word at the moment, to the above mentioned energy. They are not reliant on the existence of people to exist but they seem to get "something" from human worship or interaction.

1a. No

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I use direct personal contact.

If it is a God/Goddess with whom I have a relationship, I seek them out through Otherworld path working. I ask questions and I am asked questions. I am honest and respectful and I expect and believe I receive the same courtesy.

If it is a God/Goddess that I have never had any personal relationship with or a really primal Goddess who I do not seek to have personal contact with I use ritual as a way of showing my respect.

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

I expect the God/Goddess to respond in what ever way he/she feels is appropriate. So I don't expect one thing or another in particular but I do expect a response and because I am human there is always an element of personal expectation as to how things will go.

I usually only ask for information and/or guidance. I usually get what I ask for but not always how I expect - see always an element of personal expectation. It is better not to have it but it is so hard not to "expect".

However, as the God with whom I have the closest relationship (I am trying not to use "patron God"- for some reason I just don't like the term) has the epithet Lord of the Elements I do sometimes ask for rain.

If I ask with a doubting attitude I get just enough rain to say "you know I can do this for you but not with that attitude". If I ask with the right attitude I get what I need. I have hardly ever had to use the rain water tank in the garden even though we have had an ongoing drought for years. I never use mains water on my garden.

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I believe there are many Gods/Goddesses but I think quite a few of these deities are known by a number of names in various places. Same god from a different cultural perspective.
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« Reply #9: December 29, 2007, 03:26:42 pm »


1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

I think there is an energy, formless and unhuman and impersonal, that connects everything, which I would call divine. I am also open to thinking that there are other dimensional beings who indeed appear Godlike who perceive us more than we them. Perhaps they see this divine connection more clearly and are in some way connected with us, or interested in us. Not sure. We are very limited in our perceptions to these five senses, creating , I believe, a tunnel vision of existence. I have had personal experiences where I saw this beautiful dance of energy everywhere, and I believe it is always present, we simply are incapable of seeing it except under very extreme conditions. I think these entities are not dependent on us, nor do we help them thrive, as we do not create them. But there is some connection.


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1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?
No. If anything, the other dimensional entities (okay, lets just call them Gods for short, although that is such a loaded word and not really what I think they are) came first, leaving an imprint, which Jung recognized as present in all humans. It's in our DNA, we did not create archetypes or Gods. I do think we clothe the Gods in human patterns we understand, but they are probably very different in reality. But it is a system we can work with, so I have no problem with it.


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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

Mainly through intuition, meditation, trance work and occasional rational inspiration. I have an altar to Sekhmet, but I do not burn the candles or incense for Her benefit (she needs very little from me) but because I love Her and want to let her know I am thinking of Her, and I believe She likes fire. I do it in appreciation of Her taking me under Her rather fierce wing. We understand each other.


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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

I have experienced answers to questions, guidance in very real and practical situations, protection (often in lucid dreams and other-conscious states), and Sekhmet when necessary has put me in contact with a couple other Gods, (uh, that word, falls so short) some quite personal. The Old Woman Who Knows is somewhat like a guardian angel, always knowing what and where I should be going and helping create the learning experiences I need in my personal life. She has been with me since birth, and Sekhmet took me on in my 30s, or at least I became consciously aware of Her, as She wouldn't let off until I did!


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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I think there is one divine energy, and at it's purest state it is the formless energy I would refer to as sort of The Thing That Runs Everything.
The closer we get to it, the more we lose ourselves and become Godlike ourselves, (The Bhudda and Jesus come to mind as examples). Why we are here I don't know, but it seems we are always trying to move closer to the divine, whereas the divine seems to enjoy experience on many different levels. The other dimensional beings (there are many of them, perhaps as many as there are people) also run on this same energy but have a larger view of existence, as they live in 5 or 6 dimensions, but I think probably not too many levels from us, maybe just one brane over, so to speak.

I often think of it in the terms of how a physicist once explained the concept of branes to me. He used the Snow White example. On a huge two dimensional screen you have Snow White running around, interacting with seven strange men and having animals do her housekeeping. Her life is playing out without any awareness that she in  on a screen, in a theater, being watched by three dimensional beings who are enjoying her story as much as she is. If you bump that up to us as 3 dimensional beings being watched by 4 or 5 dimensional beings, who may in turn be watched by 5 or 6 dimensional beings, you sort of get the idea of where I am coming from. And all of this run by a universal energy at the source. Cool.

Of course, I am perfectly willing to believe I'm wrong too  Wink
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« Reply #10: December 29, 2007, 04:02:36 pm »


These have been some interesting replies. I am enjoying reading how other people concieve of the divine. I have noticed a few interesting things that seem to run universally.

One is that most, not all, that have replied had a concept of divine energy. Regardless of the source or specifics, it seems to be common amongst those that have replied so far. Also, there is regularly an idea of individual interpretation as being acceptable. Maybe because my school is full of Christian seminary students, but I find that very nice. And also I have noticed that there seems to be no particular requirements for communication with the divine.

So far, this has been enlightening to me. It gives me a better grasp of how people feel the divine works and helps me to develop my own thoughts and communicate better. I hope more people will reply!
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more divine than it is in itself-
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That person has a Breakthrough.
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He returns to work in the stable.

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« Reply #11: December 29, 2007, 05:47:41 pm »



First off, weal or woe? Hunh?

 

For good or ill.  In this instance, if your deity makes a change in response to a prayer, will it improve your situation or not.

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« Reply #12: December 29, 2007, 08:09:05 pm »

1. When you think of the divine do you understand the beings to be distinct, independent beings? For example, if you worship/believe in Zeus is Zeus a self-sustained being of tremendous power or otherworldliness? Or is Zeus dependent on human interaction or some other source for existence? If not independent, then what is the divine dependent on and how does that affect our relationships with the divine?

1a. Or the corollary, do you view the divine as some sort of arch-typical being (ala Jungian belief)? Or human construct?

I believe that the Divine is simultaneously a large, genderless, inscrutable force, and multiple, discrete beings. Neither are omnipotent or omniscient, but both are very powerful. They're quite independent of human belief, and don't require human effort to continue existing. The gods are quite capable of existing on Their own.

I'm a fairly hard polytheist, though I do have an odd perception that is sort of a cross between hard and soft polytheism - they're discrete beings but they are also a single Divine. That said, I don't believe that the Celtic gods are the same Divine as the Kemetic gods - They all function in different ways. Celtic gods are much, much less syncretizable and They are much, much more individual.

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2. How do you communicate or interact with the divine? Is directed personal communication enough? (Prayer, a ritual for the god, talking, thinking to the god, etc.) Is indirect personal communication enough? (Thinking about concerns, worship, etc but not directly for the benefit of the divine.)

I pray almost constantly - Every time I need something or am grateful for something I pray silently to my gods. But I also do perform formal rituals for the deities I serve, and pray formally. I leave offerings of food and drink (later consumed) as well as of art and my own creation. Inedible offerings are left at my shrine. It's not because They need it - rather, the offerings are tokens of gratitude and offerings to propitiate the gods so They look with favor on my prayers. That, and They like the stuff. Wink

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3. What do you expect in response from the divine? Do you expect a change in the behaviors, situations, or attributes of the world? (Weal or woe.) Do you expect nothing? Do you expect a purely experiential state? (Religious ecstasy, oneness with the world, etc.)

I don't actually expect anything, as such - I should like a response, but I'm not guaranteed one, as not everything I pray for or want is in my best interest. Some situations that I would rather not be in are necessary learning experiences, and no amount of prayer is going to make them any better. Usually, I just look for some kind of answer. Sometimes it's physical manifestation, sometimes it's an experiential state - it depends on what I need. I invariably get an answer of some kind, even if it's just a "not on your life, kid". Which I get, when I ask for ridiculous things (such as acing a class into which I put zero effort *sheepish*).

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4. And finally. Is there only one divine or many? If only one, what of other supposed divine beings and experiences? If many, what distinguishes one from another? Is the whole question subjective?

I'm actually not sure what you're asking. If you're taking this in the direction of "What about the gods you don't worship?" then well: I know they're out there, I've interacted with Them. I don't serve Them the same way I serve the ones I do, but I know They're out there. How They're there and why They're there - that's not my business, really. They're there, and that's good enough for me.

Interesting things to think about, thanks for asking!

Be well,
Magpie
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« Reply #13: December 29, 2007, 08:49:07 pm »

I believe that the Divine is simultaneously a large, genderless, inscrutable force, and multiple, discrete beings.

Inscrutable, good word. I do not think we can fully comprehend the divine, we simply have an awareness of it and opinions/beliefs concerning it.
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« Reply #14: December 30, 2007, 12:19:54 am »

Inscrutable, good word. I do not think we can fully comprehend the divine, we simply have an awareness of it and opinions/beliefs concerning it.

I couldn't agree more.
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