Polytheist+Agnostic+Atheist=?

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[serpentrose]

I'm not sure that's a good for comparison.  Chihuahuas *are* dogs, so that would just make you wrong.  In the case of your friend, she doesn't believe in gods, because she does not think they are gods.  She presumably believes in (or believes that x exists) whatever she thinks the gods actually are.

I read somewhere that chihuahuas are genetically rodents. (So what if it was a joke and not really true?) That's probably at least partly why this analogy came to mind.

[RandallS]

I read somewhere that chihuahuas are genetically rodents. (So what if it was a joke and not really true?)

There was a humor article to that effect: DNA Study Finds Chihuahuas Aren't Dogs

The site has this nifty disclaimer: "The Watley Review is dedicated to the production of articles completely without journalistic merit or factual basis, as this would entail leaving our chairs or actually working."

[serpentrose]

There was a humor article to that effect: DNA Study Finds Chihuahuas Aren't Dogs

The site has this nifty disclaimer: "The Watley Review is dedicated to the production of articles completely without journalistic merit or factual basis, as this would entail leaving our chairs or actually working."

That would be where I read it. 

[Go]

With tegards to the combination you posit, I see flaws there.  You try to suggest that because one doesn't believe in immortal omnipotent beings, you can count as atheist while still believing in some form of god.  Regardless of what the qualities of the god are, if you believe it exists, by definition you are not an atheist.  Thus I can see agnostic combining with either (ie: lack of certainty), but you cannot combine believing in a deity/deities *and* believing they don't exist.

As for holding conflicting beliefs: I can see holding them sequentially in Chaos magic, for example, or in general changing beliefs.  When someone holds conflicting beliefs simultaneously, it tends to be either an exercise in seeing if they can do (which may lack a certain sincerity), or more often, they just haven't thought their beliefs through.

There are many people on this board who have, in the past, reacted to terms such as Thoughtform, Godform, or Energetic Construct as though they meant something entirely different than God or Goddess.  Some people even believe that the dieties they interact with are simply manifestations of their own unconscious.  The point I am trying to get across is that just because you call something Zeus doesn't necessarily mean you think it's a God.  Many people hold an opinion of "how such entities work" which strongly conflicts with how Deities have historically been viewed.  I feel if you believe it exists but don't believe it is a God, there is a difference.

And as far as conflicting beliefs go, I wasn't talking about on purpose.  I was talking about how people behave in daily life.  Human beings contradict themselves constantly and rarely notice unless it is pointed out to them. 

[Lunaheart]

The reason I'm asking this that I've been reading a book about Kuan Yin (Bodhisattva of Compassion, by John Blofeld), where the author talks about following Kuan Yin and yet not really believing in her.  Basically the idea is that everything is one, so there can't be things that exist and things that don't exist, because that would be two and that's not possible.  So therefore Kuan Yin exists and doesn't exist, because there is no difference. 

I have not read that book, but it sounds like the author is saying that we can't be devoted to another because that would place separation, which can't happen if we are all one.
It sounds like an interesting book.

[Beachglass]

I have not read that book, but it sounds like the author is saying that we can't be devoted to another because that would place separation, which can't happen if we are all one.
It sounds like an interesting book.

Hmm, I'm not really sure how that would work... I think it would be possible to fit love into that context, something like loving others is the same as loving yourself, everyone being one and all.

However, the book itself is much more concerned with Kwan Yin herself, and only incidentally touches on Buddhist philosphy.  If you're really interested in the "everything is one" idea, there might be more topical books available.

[Lunaheart]

Hmm, I'm not really sure how that would work... I think it would be possible to fit love into that context, something like loving others is the same as loving yourself, everyone being one and all.

However, the book itself is much more concerned with Kwan Yin herself, and only incidentally touches on Buddhist philosphy.  If you're really interested in the "everything is one" idea, there might be more topical books available.

It is not necessarily that I'm interested in the book because the everything is one idea.
Also, when I was talking about devotion, I was referring to the part where he was wanting to follow Kuan Yin and then battling the idea of separation of existance. I guess I would have to read the book to really analyze this-lol.

[Purplewitch]

I've got a friend who believes the entities we call 'gods' are not actually gods.

I know someone like that too, he considers his theories somewhat 'out in left field'. The scary part is that they make sense...

[wisdomsbane]

As far as the "atheism" part is concerned, the modifier "borderline" is crucial.  I don't identify as an atheist.  The key question here is, what exactly are gods?  I refer to the beings I work with as deities, for the sake of convenience and communication when talking to others.  Most folks, especially most folks on TC, would agree that the Morrigan and Hermes and Wotan and so on count as gods; nearly as many would extend the definition to include Coyote.  Are Lwas/Orishas gods?  What about ancestral spirits?  The Fae?  Where is the line between deity and not-deity?

If you worship it, or it can be considered for worship by you, it is a deity.  If, on the other hand, it is more or less just something you believe exists, and you just communicate with, and/or exchange favors with, etc. (or just believe that it exists, with or without interference from you with it or vice versa)  then it is not necessarily a deity. 

I think I do understand your point though, because there are some that I consider to be deities, but don't exactly worship, which is why I put in that you consider them capable of being worshipped. 

For me certain types of spirits (such as ghosts) don't qualify for worship, whereas the gods do, no matter what pantheon they come from.  Whether I worship them or not is just a matter of my own personal preferences.

Just something to clarify here, I don't believe in the gods as they are given in mythologies, but rather as what they represent, if that makes sense.

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