Pantheism

[Gooding]

I just thought I'd bring up a subject that has become rather dear to me. Pantheism is a philosophy that speaks of the oneness of all life, of nature and all of us who inhabit it. I'm not at all sure that a supernatural realm actually exists, but what I do know is that we humans live in community. We depend upon one another to have our needs met and no less to we depend on the biosphere of our planet to supply the basic materials of our needs. I wrote a stream of consciousness post ( which I am wont to do) before I replaced it with this one. I also studied a bit more between yesterday and today, so maybe this post might be a bit more informative.
Pantheist philosophy has originally been postulated in antiquity. http://www.pantheism.net/paul/history/ There are many religious traditions that utilize basic pantheistic thoughts in their theologies. When one takes a deep breath of fresh air after coming out of a stifling hot building at the end of the day, one notices the sunshine, clouds moving majestically in the sky and they sometimes hear birds chirp and see squirrels scamper. Our ancestors ( our human ancestors), wondered at the stars at night, the success or failures of various crops and the changing seasons. Being human, they tried to relate these remarkable forces to themselves. So, they created their gods, their explanations as to why things and people are the way that they are.
Once these personalities were established, people tried to relate to these deified natural forces with sacrifices and legends. Some religions see that the universe is fine, but we humans try to set ourselves up, by our very natures, as people who desperately try to control things beyond our power. Others see that human frailty is the frailty of the universe. Because we're fallen, of course all Creation is fallen and it's all our fault, or at least the fault of a very empty- headed primordial human couple.
Pantheism goes beyond this and says that the Universe simply is the way that it is. Death is a natural process of recycling bodies into their constituent elements and redistributing them. Yes, the Universe is wondrous and terrifying. That's to be expected. Good and evil are human terms. Of course, we want to behave in as positive a way as we can for the environment we've hitherto been destroying. We want to relate to each other in a positive way, too. Pantheism can provide a means of acceptance and also a comfort. maybe there is no afterlife, but we influence each other in ways we can't even imagine. We give and take from nature and that's right and natural. Quantum Mechanics, the General Theory of Relativity and even M- Theory are wonderful theories that explain the basic unity of life. I opened this thread for a discussion.

[Gooding]

Here are a couple of links to the Pantheistic and Scientific Pantheist philosophies: http://www.pantheism.net/paul/basic-principles.htm , http://www.scientific-pantheism.com/atheism.htm, http://www.meta-religion.com/World_R...m#.VcQ9aBFREdU

[Neon Knight]

Try this: http://www.selectsmart.com/plus/sele...url=Pantheists

I prefer panentheism because it fits in better with the concept of soul and afterlife and with evidence for paranormal phenomena.

Panentheism (from Greek πᾶν (pân) "all"; ἐν (en) "in"; and θεός (theós) "God"; "all-in-God") was formally coined in Germany in the 19th century in an attempt to offer a philosophical synthesis between traditional theism and pantheism, stating that God is substantially omnipresent in the physical universe but also exists "apart from" or "beyond" it as its Creator and Sustainer. Thus panentheism separates itself from pantheism, positing the extra claim that God exists above and beyond the world as we know it. The line between pantheism and panentheism can be blurred depending on varying definitions of God, so there have been disagreements when assigning particular notable figures to pantheism or panentheism.

[Gooding]

Try this: http://www.selectsmart.com/plus/sele...url=Pantheists

I prefer panentheism because it fits in better with the concept of soul and afterlife and with evidence for paranormal phenomena.

Pantheist.jpg These are my results! Thank you so much for sharing that link, Neon Knight!

[Neon Knight]

My significant results:

Literal Pagan / New Age / Animist (100%)
Panentheist (100%)
Dualist Pantheist (93%)
Regular Monotheist (83%)
Agnostic Pantheist (81%)
Deist (79%)
Idealist Pantheist (69%)

[Gooding]

Something to read and to think about: http://www.heretication.info/_atheists.html

[Gooding]

Some of my favorite poets followed a very pantheistic world view and their literary contributions have been invaluable.http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Po...nternAbbey.htm, http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/ode_...west_wind.html
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/frost-midnight

[Grab the Gauge]

You think you own whatever land you land on. The earth is just a dead thing you can claim. But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name. You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you, but if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew you never knew. We are all connected to each other in a circle, in a hoop that never ends.

[Gooding]

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers. The heron and the otter are my friends. And we are all connected to each other in a circle, in a hoop that never ends. You think you own whatever land you land on. The earth is just a dead thing you can claim. But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name. You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew you never knew.

Many a wonderful truth is contained in many a beautiful song.

[Dombra]

Deist (100%)
Literal Pagan / New Age / Animist (99%)
Idealist Pantheist (91%)
Dualist Pantheist (90%)
Agnostic Pantheist (86%)
Regular Monotheist (62%)
Scientific Pantheist (56%)
Atheist / Secular Humanist (50%)
Panentheist (48%)
Agnostic (0%)

My test results