One God

[Badger_Reiki]

Because being a pagan is believing in nature, does that mean there a many other gods. Can there really be multiple gods in a religion. I believe that there is only one god in pagan religions. It seems far fetched that there are many different ones. What I mean is, do you have to follow many gods if your are a pagan.

[Seren_]

Most pagans believe in many gods in some form or another but that doesn't mean they worship them all. Some might worship a pantheon, or a few from that pantheon or several pantheons, some might focus on one in particular, but that doesn't mean they can't or won't pay their respects to others.

I'm not sure that "being a pagan is believing in nature" is an accurate definition; it implies that nature is a deity. For some pagans, perhaps, but since "pagan" covers such a broad spectrum of religions and beliefs, it's a vast generalisation.

[Toby Stimpson]

Well, first of all you must look at what the word "Pagan" is...what is Pagan? If soemone can come up with an all inclusive perfect definition then you can start to define common themes, however the word Pagan really doesnt define all groups and is quite a wide umbrella term. Monotheism in paganism is common but not excl;usivly a pagan trait, likewise polytheism or pantheism are common but not exclusive. The definition of what a God is or could be varies also so really...one cannot generalizations becasue as paganism is as much a group concept it is also an individual concept...and individuals are all different.

[Badger_Reiki]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??

[Ben Gruagach]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??

Paganism is not a single religion so you're likely to find lots of different ways of understanding the Divine -- as monotheism, as polytheism, as lots of different and often conflicting ways.

Which Pagan religion are you interested in? Wicca? Druidry? Greek Reconstructionism? Any of the African, Asian, American, or Australian native religions? Celtic Reconstructionism? Those are just a few.

[Theres]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??

in a very simplistic nutshell, yes.

[Toby Stimpson]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??

I think perhaps you confuse a little what polytheism is. It is a beleif in many deities but not certainly a worshipping of all of them. take a very (on the surface) polytheistic religion such as Hinduism (which when you get deeper can be monotheistic or other forms...). In hinduism one worshipper honours the major gods but chooses for himself a personal god who becomes the face of the ultimate Divine. While the other Gods are there and worshipped, a select group or one deity is worshipped above all others. The same is true of a number of Pagan religions. It is not uncommon for people to take on personal or family deities. On this website and other neopagan groups, the term is Patron or Matron deity. In other religions not related at all to Neopaganism for example folk Latvian Paganism there are other terms.

[Cain]

I'm sure you can be open to the idea of there being more than one god, regardless of religion. I am generally agnostic, so really there could be any number of gods, as far as I am concerned.

[Athena-Nadine]

Because being a pagan is believing in nature, does that mean there a many other gods.

What does this mean, believing in nature? Do I bleieve nature exists? Of course. Just look around. DO I believe nature is divinity? no more than I am. I.m not sure I'm understanding you. What does nature have to do with how many gids there are?

Can there really be multiple gods in a religion.

There can be and there are.

I believe that there is only one god in pagan religions.

You are entitled to believe whatever you choose to believe, but there are many gods in my religion--12 main gods and many lesser gods.

It seems far fetched that there are many different ones.

And to me, it seems farfetched that there is only one Ubergod overseeing everything. No single being can keep up with all of it. Omniscience, omipotence, omnipresence, or omni-anything just doesn't make any sense.

What I mean is, do you have to follow many gods if your are a pagan.

You don't have to follow anything. Pagan is a misleading term. It is used to group a bunch of people together for lack of a better word. In many, if not most, cases, these people have absolutely nothing in common religiously except that they are not part of one of the mainstream religions. Some pagans believe in one god, some believe in many, some believe in none at all. Some think of the gods as just symbols of the energy ofthe universe. Some have no idea what they believe.

No one here can tell you what you need to believe or not believe. Only yuo can do that. Your religious beliefs, or lack thereof, are between you and Whatever/Whomever of the Divine calls to you.

[Theres]

Omniscience, omipotence, omnipresence, or omni-anything just doesn't make any sense.

spoken like a true Hellene. :)

[Athena-Nadine]

spoken like a true Hellene. :)

Heh. What can I say? I am horribly biased. ;)

[Little Billy]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??


Or, in some of our cases, to avoid.

LB,
Isn't on good terms with any god he can think of.

[semi]

There are no gods in my religion.

[Morr]

On my path there are quite a few Gods and Goddesses.
Many.

I worship 4 main ones.
I strive to get to know as many of them as I can, who are associated with my own path and religion, though.

And I have come to work with various dieties from other religions and cultures.

I am a hard polytheist.
To me, each God and Goddess are unique and different and are of their own beings.

[Badger_Reiki]

i see said the blind man.

[coyoger]

so there are many gods but you can chose which to belive in or which to worship??
I tend to take the approach differently. I tend to believe that yes, there is one all mighty powerful “It” out there. I am too small and insignificant to matter to IT, and if I ever want to get in touch with IT I have to have a middle man. My middle men are gods/goddess of my choosing. Yes, they are all powerful as well, and must be treated with respect, but they are the ones who hold the ear if the Supreme Being. And to reach a higher plane, you should connect with someone who can help you along the path.

The world is full of god/goddess. Plum full. The best advice I can give is find a religion that appeals to you and then find someone who can help you connect with that higher faith.

[laserhazel]

There is only one true god, the rest are mythological or fictional.

All real pagans know there is only one god. Holding a belief in more than one god is exasperating and futile. Trying to believe anything which is untrue is not good for a body.

However, believing in a false god is sometimes fun for the purposes of art, as long as no one is getting hurt, or seriously annoyed.

[semi]

There is only one true god, the rest are mythological or fictional.

All real pagans know there is only one god. Holding a belief in more than one god is exasperating and futile. Trying to believe anything which is untrue is not good for a body.

However, believing in a false god is sometimes fun for the purposes of art, as long as no one is getting hurt, or seriously annoyed.


Wow. I guess most pagans aren't real pagans.

So there is only one true god and the rest are made up. What do you base this argument on, other than wild supposition?

[Little Billy]

There is only one true god, the rest are mythological or fictional.

All real pagans know there is only one god. Holding a belief in more than one god is exasperating and futile. Trying to believe anything which is untrue is not good for a body.

However, believing in a false god is sometimes fun for the purposes of art, as long as no one is getting hurt, or seriously annoyed.

Real pagans?

Okay. What do we call the Pagans that believe in more than one God?

Ersatz Pagans?

Naugahide Pagans?

Inflatable Decoy Pagans?

[Incendia]

There is only one true god, the rest are mythological or fictional.

All real Peoples know there is only one god. Holding a belief in more than one god is exasperating and futile. Trying to believe anything which is untrue is not good for a body.

However, believing in a false god is sometimes fun for the purposes of art, as long as no one is getting hurt, or seriously annoyed.

You've got to be joking?

[laserhazel]

Of course I'm joking. Why be serious and sullen, someone might think I am too dry and old.

[semi]

I thought you were serious, you bastard.

[Renny]

Like others have said, pagan doesn't always mean nature centered. Many pagans are nature based, but not all of them. The cool thing about the word pagan is that it encompasses all kinds of different faiths, so pretty much anything goes. Some are drastically opposite. All pagan really means is any religion that doesn't fit under Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. As a pagan there's alot of spiritual freedom and you can believe whatever you want. You can believe in one god, many individual gods, many gods that are facets of one, etc.

I don't see what's far fetched about believing in many gods. I guess thats because I do believe in many gods. I see life as very complex, I see the essence of each god and goddess in everything, and the countless nature spirits that are part of my faith (close to Asatru). I never took to the idea of one god over everything. So yes, there are those who believe in many, individual gods. Some might be devoted to one in particular. It really all depends on the person.


And to me, it seems farfetched that there is only one Ubergod overseeing everything. No single being can keep up with all of it. Omniscience, omipotence, omnipresence, or omni-anything just doesn't make any sense.

That's exactly how I feel! Though I don't think the poster mentioned a perfect god..

[Little Billy]

Of course I'm joking. Why be serious and sullen, someone might think I am too dry and old.

Hehe...holy crap. I've never seen you crack a joke before.

[Incendia]

:lol: Laserhazel- You won't be needing prune juice any time soon!

[laserhazel]

The belief in many gods is a manifestation of negative energy. To follow and continue believing in many gods will lead a person to insanity. Well, maybe not, but it sounds factual, instead of mellowdramatic or sensational. With the word sensational being the word of most concern, used in this context means overdramatized.

Sell one to one, there is only one. The wiccan lead was one or none. - so mote it be.

[Vincent Verthaine]

I believe that All is Chaos,Chaos is Named Eris by those who chose(or not) to call her that(or him,she's flexible),and that all other deities are just different
manifestations of her created purely for giving us talking monkeys something else to argue and fight over.

I'm not on good terms with a number of other deities also.
That's ok,the deities that got my back ain't nothing to mess with.

[fangedeshana]

I'm similar to coyoger.

I believe there is one ultimate energy (I don't think of it as a being) and it is a part of everything in the universe. However, thats a little too board for me on a day to day basis and to help my little mortal brain understand this ultimate energy a little better, I catagorize it as The God and Goddess. I like to keep complicated things simple, it seems to work for me that way.

When I work with The God and Goddess I am working with this ultimate energy, or atleast specific parts of it that are suited to my need at the time. I tend to think the same of the polythiest view - by working with certain Gods or Goddesses, they're working with specified parts of the Ultimate, to address what they need at that current time.

I guess I'm of a panetheist view and panthiest flavours ;)

EDIT: I've also heard people talk about how The Gods and Goddess are complex thought forms and have been created by man over many many many years and are not directly of the Ultimate energy. This is an interesting thought I'm looking into for fun. Either way, what works, works ;)

[coeur]

I personally believe in multiple gods being a manifestation of one (unconscious) entity. But what does it mean to be 'supreme'? To be the first? To be that which created everything else? Does being supreme mean that we need to worship it? I believe that worshipping other deities is valid and even belief in deities is valid as well. However, I also believe that most religions believe that it all started somewhere, and this somewhere is almost always ONE thing as opposed to many.

[Rhisiart]

Pantheist. All is god. Duality of god, male/female... god/universe just is...no concern for puny humans...hulk smash...bah!

[BlackMagicalCat]

I believe in a Goddess,she is personal,because I feel her love for me,and she sent me Tabitha.

I also believe in God.

I hope he doesnt mind me believing in a Goddess,LOL

[omar]

I don't pray to the lesser gods & godesses, I go to the core of the Universe. God is all & all is God, May the Self Creator anoint you. The father,son & holy spirit the maiden, mother & crone. May it be so . ( So be it ).

[Autumn Clair]

Because being a pagan is believing in nature, does that mean there a many other gods. Can there really be multiple gods in a religion. I believe that there is only one god in pagan religions. It seems far fetched that there are many different ones. What I mean is, do you have to follow many gods if your are a pagan.

Well I'm a bit different here in the community. I call myself a seer. The seer path I follow is connected to so many of the same things as pagan like driuds I always say I'm most like those following a druid path but I believe in one god and that my one god is the same being your gods and goddesses are. I believe the higher being shows themselve to us as we are most willing to except the higher being as. That is why we have so many different relgions because so many people except the higher being consciously so differently. There is no right or wrong way to except the higher being.

I hope this helps :wave: