Views of Deity?

[Kern]

I have read that the Celts believed in many gods that they were seperate and individual.And that the Celts didnt put any limitations on the gods as did the Romans and other IE religions.In other words there was not just one god of water,one of fire and one of war etc etc.This is similar to what I believe.

My question is in this article on ADF it speaks of 2 differing views,Im confused as to which view ADF accepts.
Heres the section I am referring to:


Put more simply, is religion based on the deities we worship? If so, in order for us all to be worshipping the deities of the same religion, one of two things must be true. Either the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities known by different names to different cultures, or our religion encompasses all of the deities of all of the I-E cultures. Many interpret the Dumezilian thesis to claim the former: that there is a similar structure to all of the I-E mythologies pointing to a proto-I-E religion which manned differently in the different cultures depending on their unique circumstances. The ADF liturgy would lend some credence to the notion that our religion is based on this hypothesis, for the gods fit into slots assigned to them as they fill universal I-E functions: the earth mother, the gatekeeper, the bardic deity, the guardians of the fire and the well, the outdwellers, etc. http://www.adf.org/articles/cosmology/ierelpos.html

[shenanigans]

Hmm... I'm no expert, but it seems to me, when I read that passage, that they specificied which view they accept. Here's the part that I'm talking about:


one of two things must be true. Either the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities known by different names to different cultures, or our religion encompasses all of the deities of all of the I-E cultures. Many interpret the Dumezilian thesis to claim the former: that there is a similar structure to all of the I-E mythologies pointing to a proto-I-E religion which manned differently in the different cultures depending on their unique circumstances. The ADF liturgy would lend some credence to the notion that our religion is based on this hypothesis
Ok, notice how the author states that "many.... claim the former," referring to "the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities known by different names to different cultures." Then the author states that "our religion is based on this hypothesis," referring to the "former" statement of "the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities...." It's really quite a circular way of stating something, and the author certainly doesn't make it easy to understand, so I can see your confusion!

[Kern]

Hmm... I'm no expert, but it seems to me, when I read that passage, that they specificied which view they accept. Here's the part that I'm talking about:


Ok, notice how the author states that "many.... claim the former," referring to "the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities known by different names to different cultures." Then the author states that "our religion is based on this hypothesis," referring to the "former" statement of "the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities...." It's really quite a circular way of stating something, and the author certainly doesn't make it easy to understand, so I can see your confusion!

Okay thanks,that is what I thought they meant but wasnt sure.
"the gods we are worshipping are literally the same deities known by different names to different cultures."

[Maggie]

I have read that the Celts believed in many gods that they were seperate and individual.And that the Celts didnt put any limitations on the gods as did the Romans and other IE religions.In other words there was not just one god of water,one of fire and one of war etc etc.This is similar to what I believe.

My question is in this article on ADF it speaks of 2 differing views,Im confused as to which view ADF accepts.
Heres the section I am referring to:

http://www.adf.org/articles/cosmology/ierelpos.html


You need to be careful about generalizing from what the ADF believes to what the Celts believed. It is called a Druid Fellowship, but they use the term in a larger sense, more of an intellectual rather than a specifically Celtic function.

Maggie

[Kern]

You need to be careful about generalizing from what the ADF believes to what the Celts believed. It is called a Druid Fellowship, but they use the term in a larger sense, more of an intellectual rather than a specifically Celtic function.

Maggie
Correct but I was trying to figure out What ADF's Veiw was......... :fpipesmok