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Author Topic: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!  (Read 6807 times)

Yanlin

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The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« on: April 29, 2009, 06:19:59 am »

Pan means all. Theism means belief. (Faith, something like that.)

Basically means they believe in every religion? Believe in everything? God is everything? Everything is god? Everyone is god? Paganism in a fancier word?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!
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Akroma

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2009, 06:24:33 am »

it means god is found in nature

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Awayfarer

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2009, 06:26:26 am »

Belief in the god Pan...

...well, not really. Dangit, I used to know this.

Akroma, I've never heard that explanation before.
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--There: Indicates location or state of being.
"The ale barrel is over there. There is a dwarf in it."
--Their: Indicates possession.
"Their beer has a dwarf in it. It must taste terrible.
--They're: A contraction of the words "they are".
"They're going to pull the dwarf out of the barrel."

Akroma

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2009, 06:32:15 am »

okay, a longer explanation


first of all, don't mix it up with animism, which is the core of nature-religions that states that some things, like trees, are filled with spirits and stuff


it comes from the greek word "pan" which means "everything"


in essence, it means that everything, from lifeless rocks, over animals, to humans, are part of what god is

the keyword is harmony

the entirety of nature exists in harmony with each other, take one thing of it away, and the balance will crumble

the perfect harmony of nature is what can be conceived as true divinity



it's no religion in a traditional sense, but rather a religious philosophy
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Tormy

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2009, 06:34:13 am »

Hm...interesting stuff:

"An oft-cited feature of pantheism is that each individual human, being part of the Universe or nature, is part of God. One issue discussed by pantheists is how free will may exist in this framework. In answer, the following analogy is sometimes given (particularly by classical pantheists): "you are to God as an individual blood cell in your vein is to you." The analogy further maintains that while a cell may be aware of its own environs, and even has some choices (free will) between right and wrong (killing a bacterium, becoming malignant, or perhaps just doing nothing, among countless others), it likely has little conception of the greater being of which it is a part. Another way to understand this relationship is through the Hindu phrase, tat tvam asi - "that thou art", wherein the human soul/self or Atman is understood to be the same as God or Brahman - only people do not realize it. In this Hindu context, they believe that one must be liberated through enlightenment (moksha) in order to experience and fully understand this relationship - the part becomes no longer dissimilar from the whole.

Not all pantheists accept the idea of free will, with determinism being particularly widespread among naturalistic pantheists. Although individual interpretations of pantheism may suggest certain implications for the nature and existence of free will and/or determinism, pantheism itself does not include any requirement of belief either way. However, the issue is widely discussed, as it is in many other religions and philosophies."

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Awayfarer

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2009, 06:41:30 am »

That's pantheism? I guess I never actually knew what it meant. I could swear I heard it explained somewhere as worship (or at least acknowledgement) of all gods.
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--There: Indicates location or state of being.
"The ale barrel is over there. There is a dwarf in it."
--Their: Indicates possession.
"Their beer has a dwarf in it. It must taste terrible.
--They're: A contraction of the words "they are".
"They're going to pull the dwarf out of the barrel."

Akroma

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2009, 06:44:01 am »

That's pantheism? I guess I never actually knew what it meant. I could swear I heard it explained somewhere as worship (or at least acknowledgement) of all gods.
no, that's what they call indecisive freeloader, or opportunist
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 ancient and lowly cults, the resultant abnormalities would soon not only wreck the world, but threathen the very ingerity of the cosmos

G-Flex

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2009, 07:23:30 am »

Pan means all. Theism means belief. (Faith, something like that.)

Basically means they believe in every religion? Believe in everything? God is everything? Everything is god? Everyone is god? Paganism in a fancier word?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

Do you know how to use a dictionary?
Or wikipedia?

Or do you have to ask a random forum to help you find out the definition of a word?


Here, I'm just going to quote the opening paragraph in the Wikipedia article for you, since you can't seem to make it there yourself:
Quote
Pantheism (Greek: πάν (pan) = all and θεός (theos) = God, literally "God is all" -ism) is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God. In pantheism the Universe (Nature) and God are equivalent. More detailed definitions tend to emphasize the idea that God is better understood as an abstract principle representing natural law, existence, and the Universe (the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be) than an anthropomorphic entity.
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Akroma

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2009, 07:26:40 am »

Pan means all. Theism means belief. (Faith, something like that.)

Basically means they believe in every religion? Believe in everything? God is everything? Everything is god? Everyone is god? Paganism in a fancier word?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

Do you know how to use a dictionary?
Or wikipedia?

Or do you have to ask a random forum to help you find out the definition of a word?


Here, I'm just going to quote the opening paragraph in the Wikipedia article for you, since you can't seem to make it there yourself:
Quote
Pantheism (Greek: πάν (pan) = all and θεός (theos) = God, literally "God is all" -ism) is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God. In pantheism the Universe (Nature) and God are equivalent. More detailed definitions tend to emphasize the idea that God is better understood as an abstract principle representing natural law, existence, and the Universe (the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be) than an anthropomorphic entity.

dude, the answer "wiki it" is not what he came here for

in fact, coming to a forum to ask about something you don't understand seems like a good thing to do

pantheism is an interesting topic, and asking on a forum about it could spark an interesting discussion


afterall a forum is a place to discuss topics, is it not ?
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 ancient and lowly cults, the resultant abnormalities would soon not only wreck the world, but threathen the very ingerity of the cosmos

G-Flex

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2009, 07:30:59 am »

Making a thread to discuss pantheism: fine

Making a thread to ask for the definition of a word instead of just looking it up: Huh?
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Akroma

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2009, 07:33:57 am »

you see, these are not mutualy exclusive

most discussions arise from a question



and even so, if he has a question and chose this forum as the place to voice it, then so be it
no point in being rude
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 ancient and lowly cults, the resultant abnormalities would soon not only wreck the world, but threathen the very ingerity of the cosmos

chaoticag

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2009, 07:34:51 am »

The name is misleading, because of the roots. When Akroma first explained it though, I thought it meant that nature is proof of God, but I just finished my Islamic Studies exam, so that might be it.
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Mondark

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2009, 07:38:56 am »

Seems like I always heard it just meant belief in *many* gods, rather than just one.  So, the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, etc. would have been pantheistic.

The 'god is everything' version I hadn't heard before, but I'll bow to the almighty dictionary here.
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G-Flex

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2009, 07:40:11 am »

Yep. I've honestly never heard of the "belief in all gods" thing. That's having a pantheon, sure, but not being pantheistic.
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chaoticag

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Re: The hell does Pantheism even mean?!
« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2009, 07:45:56 am »

Seems like I always heard it just meant belief in *many* gods, rather than just one.  So, the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, etc. would have been pantheistic.

The 'god is everything' version I hadn't heard before, but I'll bow to the almighty dictionary here.
You are confusing it with polytheistic.
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