My Views on Religion
I am a polytheist. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, polytheism is the belief in a multitude of supernatural deities existing in the universe. Having studied Greek and Roman mythology, there is no doubt in my mind that such accounts may very well be based on reality, the same way that the Bible may be based on reality. While I don't contend that everything found in Pagan accounts is necessarily 100% true, I do feel it is conceivable that there might be many Gods and Goddesses influencing life as we know it - - possibly influencing even life on other planets. Also, there are many cultures which I have not yet studied the historical mythology of such as Celtic, Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian, and many others - - cultural accounts which may be very much based on reality. There are also spirits and deities documented in various African, Latin American, European, African, and Asian societies, not to mention accounts of numerous early North American tribal nations. Any or all of these entities within cultural mythology of the world could exist.
I hold "mythology" or "folklore" on the same plane as mainstream religions - - it's speculation of why the universe is the way it is, based on beliefs passed on through generations.
My personal theory is that Gods, Goddesses, and other spiritual entities do indeed exist in the world from a variety of religions and cultures. This may very well include the Christian God, but also other Gods and Goddesses whom are equal to him. These entities, spirits, and deities may manipulate events and forces in our everyday lives. They might control nature and gravity, possibly even parts of the universe beyond Earth and our solar system. The Gods and Goddesses may consequently manipulate and control the weather in Earth's biosphere, accounting for the dissimilar types of weather existent on Earth and the fickle and unpredictable weather patterns worldwide. How do we know that an earthquake in California wasn't caused by an Aztec God who may have been having a bad day? Or can we say for sure that a tsunami in Japan wasn't triggered by Izanagi's potential anger over how tradition is diminishing in contemporary Japanese culture? How do we know that Saddam Hussein isn't possessed by an evil Arabian warlock? How do we know that Hera wasn't the one responsible for giving humans wisdom teeth simply for her own amusement? Sure, these suggestions may sound preposterous to you, but do you have proof that these statements are false?
Gods and Goddesses might be driving the very forces of life. They may take over a human's free will by instilling good and evil in a person. Supernatural deities could be doing this for their own greed, vanity, or simply for kicks. They may be using humans as pawns in their own squabbles and conflicts with each other. I have a very difficult time swallowing the idea that ONLY ONE God would give every single human being COMPLETE free will. Don't you ever wonder why some people do the things they do? I find it hard to attribute ALL human actions to "free will." There's just gotta be more to it than that. And yes, I do believe that Gods/Goddesses might take on the forms of humans, plants, animals, bacteria, even subatomic particles. This is where the human concept of science could come in. Why would Gods/Goddesses go to such lengths as taking on the form of microbacteria or changing energy forms and possessing lower beings when they conceivably have supreme power over plants, animals, and mortals? Who knows? Maybe because they can and enjoy doing so? How do we know what lies within the psyche of a supernatural deity? Are we really going to necessarily be able to understand as humans? Therefore, in this sense you could also call me an agnostic. So I guess that makes me an agnostic polytheist!
One reason polytheism appeals to me so much is because it doesn't discriminate against homosexuals or bisexuals. Some humans were created as heterosexuals, homosexuals, and bisexuals for a reason. Possibly for variety or diversity from the Gods'/Goddesses' perspectives - - but then, I can't say that for sure because I'm not a God. So how would I know? It doesn't make sense for everyone in the world to be the same way. The Gods/Goddesses may be responsible for creating different species, creatures, races, genders, sexualities, disabilities, disorders, plagues, viruses, and the list could go on. At any rate, ancient Greek and Roman societies accepted homosexuality as a natural part of some individuals' lives, and they had the right idea.
I believe spirituality and magic extend beyond Gods and Goddesses as well. Deities may annoint humans as their apprentices or "helpers." Could that be how some people obtained psychic powers? For all we know, angels, pixies, ghosts, fairies, ghosts, leprechauns, elves, gnomes, genies, unicorns, trolls, gargoyles, and other creatures could be real too. When little children claim to see such creatures, perhaps the children are actually telling the truth? Maybe Gods/Goddesses passed on magical or supernatural powers to other "otherworldly" creatures (such as angels, pixies, etc.)? Extraterrestrial life beyond the stars may be abundant. There may even be "alien gods" presiding over other galaxies belong to extraterrestrials, or even infringing upon our own galaxy. Gods and Goddesses could have been responsible not only for other alien species, but other planets, stars, galaxies, solar systems, dimensions, realms, and other components of the universe. We really don't know what's out there. How do we know what happened millions of years ago?
That's where atheism often comes in for some people. I personally have a hard time digesting atheism because it relies so heavily on scientific explanations for the meaning of life. Science is a human-conceived concept of widely accepted knowledge based on evidence. However, humans have limited knowledge of the universe, and just because something is commonly accepted as a "truth" doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Even carefully examined evidence may contain errors, and errors can be very minor or very large. Attributing the mysteries of life and the universe to human-conceived scientific law does not necessarily explain the initial origins of the universe and its components. Many atheists try to claim that the universe was created through the bonding of elements, gases, and chemicals into compounds and substances - - well then if that actually happened, then who or what caused such elements, gases, and chemicals to bond in the first place? I don't find it credible to say "everything just fell into place."
Therefore, I find myself having an agnostic perspective as to initial origins of components in life. I have no answers as to how supernatural deities may have originally come into existence in the universe. But just because we can't explain their potential presence doesn't mean they aren't there. I don't see why so many individuals feel they need to be able to answer all of life's mysteries - - how the universe was created and so forth. My theory is that deities of some form were involved, possibly similar to Gods and Goddesses of various cultures. So you may ask why I am so quick to embrace polytheism but not atheism. That's simple . . . polytheism is based on the theory of supernatural deities - - presumably living things! Atheism theorizes that chemical substances spontaneously combined to form life. But were those chemical substances living? If your answer is no, then how were they able to chemically combine if they didn't have conscious knowledge? But if your answer is yes, then wouldn't that put such chemical substances on the same plane as divine Gods and Goddesses? Then we're right back to polytheism.
I don't believe in participating in an organized religion that runs anti my religious philosophies. I still resent my parents for trying to force me to conform to Catholicism, even though my mom is Protestant (she was complacent with the insistence of my dad's Catholic family that my sister and I be raised Catholic). From my standpoint, I will not sit and stand in a cathedral and worship only one God who I don't believe to be *THE* exclusive deity in the universe. I also find some organized religions boring and stagnant and somewhat shallow. However, I don't believe it's "wrong" for people to partake in organized religion. If people enjoy worshipping their God(s) in a cathedral or temple of their choice led by a clergyperson of their choice, then I have no problem with it. But I also have the right to worship my Gods and Goddesses, be it all alone in my bedroom or in a forest along with a coven of all-male witches. Additionally, I don't see why the Catholic church doesn't allow female priests. As a former Catholic-by-force, I cannot morally bear to currently associate myself with a church that discriminates based on gender (and sexuality, for that matter). I'm not one to march into Vatican City and tell the Catholic church what to do or how to think and I'm not going to tell them how to run their church, but I'm not going to contribute to it either. I have many Christian friends, and I love them for who they are - - and their religion makes them part of who they are. I don't condemn people based on their individual religion.
Still, I don't see how we know for sure that any one religion is "right" and all others are "wrong." I have a feeling that certain parts or kernels of every religion may be true, but it's just a matter of having comon sense when establishing your religious beliefs. Common snese should tell you that homosexuality is not "wrong," it's just as genuine as heterosexuality. Common sense should tell you that women and men are equals. Common sense should tell you that there is no "superior" or "inferior" racial ethnicity on Earth. These are very basic truths that some people hide behind their religious accounts in order to avoid or condemn. So do we really know what really did happen and what didn't in religious accounts? I can't prove that the supernatural accounts of the Trojan War occurred anymore than a Christian can prove that the Tower of Bable happened or than an atheist can prove that the theory of evolution is valid. Why is it so hard to believe that different concepts from different religions may realistically coexist in the universe simultaneously? Let's face it: religions are vague and omniscent. Monotheism and polytheism don't adequately explain where Gods or Goddesses came from. Atheism doesn't adequately explain how the male and female genders developed or how the different racial ethnicities or verbal languages of the world evolved. Couldn't it be that all religions of the world are intertwined or connected somehow? Not to say they're all necessarily the same concept manifested in differing forms, but all the religions in the world could be linked or in correlations with each other. We simply haven't figured out how. And it's doubtful that we ever will.
Because of my complex religious views, I fail to understand the religious persecution that occurs in the world. Why people kill each other over differences of religion - - something that we as humans cannot even definitively verify. We can't prove religion with absolute certainty, so why do members of dissimilar religious groups kill each other?
There are several problems I have with the Bible. Some Christians claim that Jesus said homosexuality is wrong, but Jesus never said that in the Bible - - Paul did. And who is Paul - - one disciple - - to declare that being gay is a "sin"? But even if the Bible says that Paul or anyone else proclaimed homosexuality as a "sin", how did we actually know if they really said that or not? Can we travel back in time to witness biblical events? And even if someone in the biblical times did say that homosexuality is a "sin", that doesn't mean they're right about it! There were monks who spent their entire lives copying and transferring verses onto Bible pages - - are people honestly expected to believe that the Bible was NEVER altered during all those centuries? I'm pretty sure that someone could have easily added in a verse about homosexuality being a "sin" . . . possibly because that person simply viewed homosexuality from a personal standpoint as "disgusting."
Adam and Eve is also a fishy account. I'm not saying Adam and Eve didn't exist . . . I suspect they did. But why would a "loving" God punish two mortals for eating fruit from a "forbidden tree"? What was so special about that fruit anyway? If the Christian God did throw such a puppy tantrum over Adam and Eve eating fruit, then I conclude that he is not perfect and is every bit as multi-dimensional as the Greek Olympians. And for eating fruit from a tree, the Christian God made all men and women from there on in physically suffer?! That doesn't seem to me like the action of a very "loving" God? Why punish all of humanity for what Adam and Eve did? It doesn't make sense. And besides, SO WHAT if Adam and Eve ate fruit off of a tree! Ooooh, big crime!! That was a very petty thing for the Christian God to get upset over, and for that reason I put him on the same plane as imperfect Gods and Goddesses of other cultures. Why would such a "loving" God let such bad things happen to good people in the world? I can't conceive Gods and Goddesses as being "exclusively good," so of course they will allow bad things happen to people in life. The Christian God allows bad things to happen to good people also, and this therefore makes him imperfect.
And as for the theory of atheism that says all living organisms evolved from one living single cell. If everything originated from one cell, then how did the male and female genders become differentiated? How did the ethnic races of the world develop, or the foriegn languages of the world for that matter? All of life's mysteries simply cannot be explained through the limited human capacity of science as we know it. Rather, I look at both science and religion as tools by which we as humans can examine our inner-selves, learn from each other, and explore new concepts.
Ultimately, we'll never know the mysteries and secrets of the universe until we reach the afterlife - - that is, assuming there is an afterlife. And maybe not even the afterlife will hold all the answers. Religion and science are both speculation and theory, and both may be working together, not necessarily one and the same but perhaps in figurative collaboration. Will we ever really know if something is true. Evidence can be misleading or may contain errors. Such errors may be very small or very large. So how did we know for certain if certain evidence is reliable or not? It depends on how the individual interprets it, and evidence can be interpreted in a multitude of various ways. Sorry folks, but as much as we'd like to, we cannot have all the answers. Remember, there may be more than meets the eye to virtually anything. With so many individual perspectives, there will eternally be different conflicting theories, and one theory is not necessarily "supreme" or "exclusively right" to our limited knowledge. The Christian God may very well exist . . . but so may Apollo!
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