[Main Blog Post] What Are the Gods and How Do We Come to Know Them?

[jprussell]

For this week, I thought I'd just dip my toe into a little bit of light theology, attempting to take the model of the planes we discussed a few weeks back and applying it to understanding what's going on in religious experiences. I'd love to know what y'all think, as always.

Comments

[thinking_turtle]

Thanks for your blog! To me, it seems that monotheism and polytheism are both human models. Models cannot be true, they can only approach truth.

If you pray to Jupiter, and he doesn't respond, perhaps being a leader isn't for you, or Jupiter is testing you to see if you really want to be a leader.

I don't think the gods are a catalogue of followers and we get to choose one of them to help us. I think the gods are in the lead, and we are the followers, and even our choice of whom to follow is limited by their acceptance.

[jprussell]

Thank you for your kind words, and you're most welcome.

I think your point about the agency of the Gods, in fact, Their greater agency in religious interactions, is an excellent one, and a "catalog" is a great critique of some flavors of "eclectic" religiosity. Also, always helpful to be reminded that "the map is not the territory."

Cheers,
Jeff