Is it okay to think of the God and Goddess as metaphorical and represent nature rather than literal beings?
Is it okay to think of the God and Goddess as metaphorical and represent nature rather than literal beings?
Last edited by Greenlife; 30 May 2013 at 16:42.
A rather large number of people do think of them that way so unless a divinity beats you over the head and says, "quit that and pay attention", go with what you think best.
If a divinity does beat you over the head and demand that you listen, shrug, listen. It's less painful.
"It is not simply enough to know the light…a Jedi must feel the tension between the two sides of the Force…in himself and in the universe."
―Thon
"When to the Force you truly give yourself, all you do expresses the truth of who you are,"
Yoda
Yoda told stories, and ate, and cried, and laughed: and the Padawans saw that life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
"But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."
John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper
"You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."
Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
I do not see why that would be a problem, unless you get a spiritual slap like MaskedOne said.
There is something pagan in me that I cannot shake off. In short, I deny nothing, but doubt everything. - Lord Byron
Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher. - William Wordsworth
I have mostly chosen to pass on the question of whether or not gods are literal beings (does that make me an agnostic polytheist?) because I don’t find it to be spiritually significant. I’ve had strong feelings on both sides of this issue at different points of my life, and I’ve found that there isn’t any difference in MY relationship with the gods whether I think they are really “real” or not.
“You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom
“We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
"We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
"Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett
Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
I've learned that even if they knock you on the head, it's still your life. I'm guilty of given in and surrendering at times, but if you want to see them as purely archetypes, or give them up all together, and they don't like it (if you believe they exist) and they beat you down or throw obstacles in your way, that's their problem and are acting rather childish. There's no reason to give your life over to deity or pantheon no matter what, unless YOU want it that way. Be thankful for what you surmise they have given you, but if you want to be free of spiritual subjugation and faith, or just simply don't want to work under, with or for them and want to live your life the way you choose, so be it. It's your life, your choice.
I'm not saying it's easy, but this way you know you hold the power in your hands.
My spouse considers himself agnostic, if not outright atheist. He also pours out some beer or mead to Odin every Wednesday, and has had multiple interactions with him now.
Some deities don't care if you believe in them or not.
Yes. A surprisingly large number of the people that kick-started Neopaganism in the 1960s were essentially atheists that viewed the gods as thoughtforms or Jungian archetypes. It was kinda the academic climate of the time.Originally Posted by Greenlife
I find that there is little difference between viewing a deity as physical, spiritual or metaphorical.. or as one side or another (as other religions choose to view their deities); in the end its rooted in your ideas, its a start or a finish; an idea of one sort or another. If more people understood that the basis of their view was the same as everyone else’s (a rooted idea they build upon), there would be far more unity in this world. Think what you want; the Gods and the Goddess’s, the Earth, the real or the fake, your heart, your mind, your spirit... they’re all one.
If you question yourself on what you believe then you may want to get to the root of why you’re questioning such things.. I find most pose questions when they want to be reinforced towards the idea that what they’re doing is right, or wrong. If a voice speaks to you, its your own voice; if it doesn’t speak then maybe silence works for you.. just try to be happy and content with the ‘right now’ in your life, and the answers to all you seek will come for you.
haha I like this. Made me chuckle!
I pretty much agree with everyone else. I guess it all boils down to what ever feels right for you.
There's different kinds of reality (or nonreality but that's a different matter entirely) . A metaphor can be as real as a literal thing and have as much meaning (or lack there-of) as a literal being.
Also think of them however you want. I'm a nihilist but I still worship and believe in gods
“They moaned and squealed, and pressed their snouts to the earth. We are sorry, we are sorry.
Sorry you were caught, I said. Sorry that you thought I was weak, but you were wrong.”
-Madeline Miller, Circe
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