What is accurate and right?

[Alienist]

I think one of the most difficult things about choosing paths at least for me, is choosing the right path. Not just what is right for me but what is the moral right path and which god and goddess is actually good and what isn't? Do any of the gods and goddesses have a consistent personality? Do they have one at all or did we humans give them their personality due to how we work with them? There are so many gods and goddesses that have been praised and hated. Yahweh might be praised by Jews but hated by Gnostics. Jesus is thought to be a Muslims according to Islam and that his message has been misinterpreted and that they don't believe he's the son of god, but Christians do and according to Gnostics was a person who wanted to steer away from Yahweh's lies. Lucifer is both said to be an arrogant, corrupt rebellious angel but is also seen as a knowledgeable liberator and a champion of the people of Earth. Yahweh is seen as benevolent but also tyrannical and jealous. Devas are demonized by Zoroastrians but praised by Hindus and the same goes for Asuras since Asuras are enemies in Hindu but praised in Zoroastrianism. It doesn't seem like any deity is universally praised as good or bad, as it seems like every religious group will praise one deity but hate another.

How does anyone choose their path? How does anyone know which deity they worship is actually a good deity. For all we know the deities some religious groups like with Hindus, a lot of those deities might have been bloodthirsty, corrupt and bad, but were written in books to be heroes and heroines. Kind of like with war. Only the winners write the history books.

However if deities are beyond our comprehension, could they be beyond good and evil and just are? Sort of like living tools who aren't affiliated with the forces of good and evil and one could commit evil in the name of Jesus and do good in the name of Lucifer? Are there any good and evil deities or is it how we work with them that determines their alignment?

[anunitu]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I myself tend to see the higher power in a much different form. The universe is composed of energy,and in my "Vision" of what is a higher power I think in terms of that energy being "sentient" and "WE" create an image that will conform to our needs that we can relate to. so many images for many people,but the same source.

[Rowanwood]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I get the impression from your recent posts that you want someone to tell you who to worship and that it will magically be the right and only forever choice and hence your whole life will just fall into place.... and I'm sure there's a nice cult out there that would be happy to tell you what to believe and what to think and what the "right" answer is and the "right" "good" god to worship.

But we can't do that. We can tell you what we believe, but clearly that's not answering your question.

How do you know is a god is good with absolute scientific certainty?

You don't. The entire spiritual and religious process is based on faith, experience and sharing. If you trust me, I can tell you what I experienced, you filter that through your own life experience and either learn from it or disregard it as irrelevant to your life. You can read a book of someone else's experience. If you trust them? Same thing happens.

There's no answer to your question that is universal.

[anunitu]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I agree with Rowan here,since belief is such personal a thing. Though some might say one size fits all,I at least feel My path is something of a custom made object of my personal belief.

[Louisvillian]

Re: What is accurate and right?

How does anyone choose their path?

When people do choose it, I think it's usually due to personal experiences and finding what fits right for them, or finding what works.
But. Thing is, most people do not choose their religion. Most people are born into their religion, usually due to ethnicity or due to their parents' religion.

However if deities are beyond our comprehension, could they be beyond good and evil and just are?

That is the thought present in most ancient polytheistic religions, and it is what I believe in.

[Gleb]

Re: What is accurate and right?

When people do choose it, I think it's usually due to personal experiences and finding what fits right for them, or finding what works.
But. Thing is, most people do not choose their religion. Most people are born into their religion, usually due to ethnicity or due to their parents' religion.

What do you mean?

Perhaps, both of the theories are possible and correct. Perhaps, it depends on which direction among the two, a person chooses. - To follow obediently and without question the religion of the parents, or to find another - suitable religion that's ideal for the person.

Or, maybe there is one more option - to combine the two paths, and live in a world of the religions combined into 1. - A difficult thing, I know.
As far as I know, a persons fate is in the hands of the person. Even if it was determined 1 second after the child's birth, it may change along the years - just like a religion and view on the world.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: What is accurate and right?

A path is just that. A path. Something you follow... up down right and left.... it's not like getting on a train at one station and getting off again at another. What is right is what is right for you at that moment.

Over the years I've had a number of different deities enter my life - not because some were 'wrong' but because some were needed at any given time. Please don't be so uptight about this. Walk your path. See who - or what - walks with you.
And good luck!

[Satu]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I think one of the most difficult things about choosing paths at least for me, is choosing the right path. Not just what is right for me but what is the moral right path and which god and goddess is actually good and what isn't?

Nobody knows which path is the "moral right path" because morality is not black and white. If it was, it'd be pretty simple. So you need to determine what your morals are, then find a religion that matches them closely, or forge your own path.

Do any of the gods and goddesses have a consistent personality?

Do you?

Do they have one at all or did we humans give them their personality due to how we work with them?

That depends on if you believe deities are separate entities or if They're creations by the human mind.

How does anyone choose their path?

Through honest self-examination, experimentation, and patience. You need to determine what you want out of your path, what you want out of a relationship with the divine, if you indeed want one at all.

How does anyone know which deity they worship is actually a good deity.

Through that deity's behavior and mythology, and by not reducing something complex as the divine to the black-and-white dichotomy of "good vs evil".

Are there any good and evil deities or is it how we work with them that determines their alignment?

Good. Evil. It's perspective.

Are there some deities who are friendlier and gentler than others? Sure.

Are there some deities who'll figuratively grind your bones for bread if you piss Them off? Sure.

Are most of them somewhere in between? I would guess so.

Stop looking for "accurate and right" when it comes to your path. Look for what works. Stop looking for "good vs evil" when it comes to deities. Understand that, if you're approaching deities as entities with Their own existence and personality, you're going to find complex beings. You're not going to find black-and-white, just like you won't find black-and-white with other mortals.

Ultimately, this is something you have to deal with on your own. Nobody with your best interests in mind will tell you what path to walk down and/or which deity(ies) to worship. You need to strike out on your own. You can always turn around if you take the wrong path.

[LuciaStar]

Re: What is accurate and right?

Not just what is right for me but what is the moral right path and which god and goddess is actually good and what isn't?

It's not going to impress you, but the "right moral path" is, I find, mostly subjective to what someone thinks is the right moral path. What's the ultimate truth? Some would say their religion is the ultimate truth, while others would say there is no ultimate truth. How do you know you're right? Some say they just know, others say they don't but want to believe they do, etc.

What is your viewpoint? What do you personally believe? No one can tell you the answers, only yourself, and even your answers can change over time. Spirituality, like many things in life, is fluid and constantly changing. You may identify as So and So Religion for months, even years and then suddenly you don't feel like you should identify as So and So Religion because something changed. I've identified as Pagan for a long time, then I felt Pagan wasn't right and started to identify more or less as Polytheistic but that isn't completely right either.

That also kind of answers your question of how someone chooses their path, in some way.

As for your questions on deities, I can't give too much of a decent answer to that. Not all deities are good and light, and some would say deities are beyond our comprehension and I have a tendency to view them as neither good nor evil. Just who they are. Their 'alignment' is whatever they feel at the moment. They are whatever they feel at the moment.

It's not an impressive answer because no one can give you those answers and those answers aren't going to be consistent because people have different beliefs or views on things.

[Gleb]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I must agree with Satu. The "suitable path" thing is very flexible.
Try to determine things according to your character, using external resources.

[Rae'ya]

Re: What is accurate and right?

I think one of the most difficult things about choosing paths at least for me, is choosing the right path. Not just what is right for me but what is the moral right path and which god and goddess is actually good and what isn't?

There is no such thing as The Universally Moral and Right Path. I'm sorry, but there isn't.

Morality is a HUMAN construct, and it is completely subjective. What is and isn't considered to be moral, right or good differs from culture to culture, and from person to person. There is no universal moral right. Period.

Do any of the gods and goddesses have a consistent personality?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is that it depends on what you mean by consistent. NO-ONE has a static, consistent personality. No person. No deity. No spirit. No dog or cat or fish. Consistency is a tricksy little sucker... we may strive towards it, but the reality is that personalities, actions and reactions are entirely depending on a multitude of factors. Deities are no different in that. To be completely consistent would be to be static and unchanging and unable to evolve or adapt to a changing world. And who wants that?

It doesn't seem like any deity is universally praised as good or bad, as it seems like every religious group will praise one deity but hate another.

That's because no deity is universally 'good' or 'bad'.

Because 'good' and 'bad' are HUMAN moral constructs, and like morality in general, are completely subjective. That means that what you define as 'good' may differ from what I define as 'good', which will differ from what the guy down the street defines as 'good'. Culture, society, environment, personality, early experiences, desires, passions and a million other things contribute to what we think is 'good', 'bad', 'beautiful', 'ugly' or 'moral'.

There is no universal concept of 'good' or 'bad'. And therefore there can be no universal categorization of deities into 'good' or 'bad'.

How does anyone choose their path?

Depends on the person. Some people don't choose, but are born into it or have it forced upon them. Some people are complacent and don't bother to change the path that they were born into (or perhaps complacency itself is the path). Some people search and search for what they think is 'right' and will never find it. Some people stumble upon something unexpected and just 'click'. For most of us as pagans... we go either with what makes sense to us (emotionally and/or intellectually) or what reverberates within the very fibers of our soul.

The problem with worrying so much about what is 'right' is that you create an unrealistic expectation within yourself that makes it difficult to settle into something.

And again... there is no universal right or wrong. Period. Searching for that is a dead end and will get you nowhere.

How does anyone know which deity they worship is actually a good deity.

Frankly, I don't care if my deities are 'good'. That's pretty evident from the fact that I am sworn to a goddess who rules over death, debt and obligation as well as regularly working with Jotun deities and Demons. Good doesn't do it for me.

For all we know the deities some religious groups like with Hindus, a lot of those deities might have been bloodthirsty, corrupt and bad, but were written in books to be heroes and heroines. Kind of like with war. Only the winners write the history books.

True. And it works both ways.

However if deities are beyond our comprehension, could they be beyond good and evil and just are?

Yes, because 'good' and 'evil' are HUMAN constructs. That doesn't mean that you can't form an opinion about which deities YOU think are 'good' or 'evil... that is perfectly acceptable. But no one can tell you that but yourself, because it is entirely dependent on YOUR moral compass.

Sort of like living tools who aren't affiliated with the forces of good and evil and one could commit evil in the name of Jesus and do good in the name of Lucifer?

There is no force of good or of evil.

And yes, one could commit atrocities in the name of Jesus and very helpful altruistic things in the name of Lucifer.

Are there any good and evil deities or is it how we work with them that determines their alignment?

It is our own, personal moral compass that determines whether we THINK that a particular deity is good or bad. It's not about what they ARE, but the way that we perceive them. The way that we work with them is OUR problem, not theirs, and it speaks to OUR internal morality, not theirs.

[thalassa]

Re: What is accurate and right?

Here’s the only thing I honestly know about divine beings, regardless of their nature (or indeed that *anyone* can know about divine beings): There is no such thing as an objective event, fact or state(ment) that one can make about a completely abstract idea that is entirely subjective. Because of that, there isn’t a single god that can be measured, weighed, observed, photographed, or otherwise independently verified. Additionally, it seems that different cultures and individuals explain god in culturally relative and personally meaningful ways without any universal agreement or cohesion. To me, this indicates that the ultimate nature of god is ultimately unknowable…except to the individual’s perception of and experience with god (and this includes the option that deities do not exist at all or that they all exist simultaneously).

god *is*....and everything else is us.