Has anyone actually made up their own pantheon?

[Louisvillian]

Re: Has anyone actually made up their own pantheon?

Please. Don't be an ass just because you don't like the question.

I'm not being an ass. If I were being an ass, I'd be calling you names. On the contrary, I'm saying you're intelligent.

Real is subjective.

Our perception of reality is subjective. Our interaction with things is subjective. The things we interact with, however, are not.
In this case, I believe that the gods exist entirely independently of human perception and interaction with them. I don't personally care if someone wants to believe in a fictional deity or whatever. But I do not, because I believe the gods to be non-fictional, non-subjective beings.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Has anyone actually made up their own pantheon?

I'm not being an ass. If I were being an ass, I'd be calling you names. On the contrary, I'm saying you're intelligent.


Our perception of reality is subjective. Our interaction with things is subjective. The things we interact with, however, are not.
In this case, I believe that the gods exist entirely independently of human perception and interaction with them. I don't personally care if someone wants to believe in a fictional deity or whatever. But I do not, because I believe the gods to be non-fictional, non-subjective beings.

I know I haven't actually been posting, but I've been following this thread. Thal is right. Real is subjective. What is real to me might not be real to you, and what is truth to me might not be truth to you. There's no such thing as ultimate reality or ultimate truth.

So, in that case, I believe that the gods are real only insomuch as fairy tales are. They're great stories with moral (and immoral) lessons, archetypes of ideals we hold dear, theories used to explain the unexplainable, etc. That doesn't make them any more or less subject to worship, but it also doesn't make them real, precisely. And by that logic, you can make up your own pantheon. Hell, I tattoo'd a quote to my body on the topic of worshipping a fictional deity from a Jacqueline Carey series. That's my belief, but your realism isn't my own.

See what I did there?

[Louisvillian]

Re: Has anyone actually made up their own pantheon?

There's no such thing as ultimate reality or ultimate truth.

That might be fine for you, but I'm going to disagree.

So, in that case, I believe that the gods are real only insomuch as fairy tales are.

You can believe that, sure, but that doesn't make it factual or right.
My belief in my ideas doesn't make them factual or right, either. I might be wrong, just as much as you might be. But I'm not going to totally doubt myself and not truly believe in the things I believe in. That kinda defeats the point of faith.

But, on topic--I'm not going to stop someone from believing in a deity that I don't think is real. That's not my place, that's not anyone's place. We all have the right to criticise or critique, but no one has the right to make someone not do something as long as it doesn't impinge on others' rights. And an absolute respect for freedom of thought and belief is part of that.