Oh. Talk about a can of worms with that one...

In order to explain my answer to that, I would pretty much have to write a book so I'll have to stay mysterious instead ;)

Let me put it this way:

I believe in no god. I do, however, believe that it is probable that every entity ever called a god by anyone was on the Earth at their perspective times...

Intriguing, Doc.

Bringing this up to the top because I'd like to see what other people think.

okay you smart people are going to have to help me out here because i have read it three times and still don't know what your asking me?

Technically, it's the opposite of an atheist. Instead of believing in one religion or no religion, you believe in all of them.

man, i can't believe i've never seen this forum before.

i think, if i were to call myself anything, it would be a Pantheist. although, i don't quite agree with Cinders' definition. it actually doesn't have much to do with "god" at all.

if i had to give a concise definition of Pantheism, i suppose it would be something like: the belief that the universe as a whole is divine. there really isn't any concept of a personal deity; Pantheists simply use the word "God" to define the divinity they consider inherent in everything that has, is, and will exist.

even that feels like an inadequate explanation. here are some links that might be a bit more helpful.. and i have to say, it took me awhile to find helpful links. there are a lot of shoddy websites out there claiming to know what Pantheism is about. For a really well-written, complete study of Pantheism, i suggest the book "The Elements of Pantheism" by Paul Harrison.

link
link
link

bah, why is it that no one ever gets interested in the same topics as me?

i knew i'd seen something about the second definition Cinders posted, and i found it:
- the idea of pantheism as a belief in all religions came about through a misinterpretation having to do with the similarities between "pantheism" and "pantheon". however, the second definition is in direct contradiction to the first - that the universe is the only true divinity.

also, here are some cool facts about pantheism from the book i mentioned above.

- "pantheism believes that all things are linked in a profound unity. all things have a common origin and a common destiny. all things are interconnected and interdependent."

- "when pantheists say 'the universe is divine' they don't mean that it has any supernatural powers or personality. they mean simply that because of its power and beauty we feel a profound reverence and awe for it, similar to the reverence and awe that believers in a more conventional God feel towards their deity."

- "pantheism teaches reverence and love for nature. nature was not created for us to use or abuse - nature created us, we are an inseparable part of her, and we have a duty of care toward her."

- "pantheism does not simply co-exist uncomfortably with science: it fully embraces science as part of the human exploration of the divine universe."

It sounds very similar to pagen bliss

i would love to discuss it with you but i'm still not certain what the debate is

paganism is very similar. most modern pagans practise a form of polytheism, specifically with a God and a Goddess. and actually, those pagans who consider these gods to be merely symbolic actually are pantheist, for the most part.

the main difference between the two is that Paganism generally proclaims at least two gods, whereas Pantheism holds that there are no gods, only the divine universe.

... you're right, i'm not really sure there is a debate. maybe we could just have a discussion instead? :)

sure i am open to discussion

sooo erm the define universe, huh?....yeah i got nothing lol

it all just sounds sort of erm....okay like sort of the mother earth softer side of nature
i wanted to say hippieish but my friends here with me hit me for being offensive and told me to stop watching that 70s show

my friend after hitting me also came up debate to do with patheism

apparently the direct translation means
"god is all" but some interprete it as
"all is god"

the debate being

is it actually a religion where god is in everything and around all of us

or

is it actually a metaphor more thinking about how science and everything in the universe works as one

....i think i'm not sure

I'm fuzzy, as I took this course a year ago, but I'm gonna take this moment to note that my definition of pantheism is in relation to the Greeks. That is, religion in Greece was mostly regional, and we lost a lot of the regional myths, but the Panhellenic myths that applied to all of the Greeks survived. Pantheist was a term applied to a Greek who believed all the myths, in the power of all the Gods with no "favoritism" to any specific one.

Also, the very etymology of the term "pantheism" is "all-gods"

So there's some debate for you. ;o)

*rubs head*

so are there are different translations and interpretations can we really debate that?

i feel very intellectually out of my depth here with you guys and i just feel the need to say sorry i have spent most of this small discussion confused lol

no need to apologize! the term "pantheism" wasn't used to describe what constitutes modern pantheism until very recently, historically speaking.

you were close with the first of your definitions above, debs.. but it's more like god is everything, rather than god is in everything. god is not separate from the universe, rather, the universe is god.

hmm, i feel like i'm just confusing you more haha.

I've always interpreted "pantheism" as " all gods" (like for example the Italian monument Pantheon in Rome was built to be a temple for all Roman Gods) so it's almost the same thing as polytheism and paganism. Personally I believe in no God but I respect all the religions even if I don't understand why someone wants to believe in something so illogical and improbable. So beliving in a sort of polytheism is even more unlikely than just in one God. But I've always liked the idea of Gods in everything on the earth, not because I could believe in it but because it makes you more sensitive about nature and makes you understand how everything around us is important and we have to respect it. Maybe if we believed in this the world wouldn't be such a mess.... and believing in all religions, frankly, is a too easy compromise. I think you should choose in your life and be sure of your decisions, even because religions are SO different and if you say that you believe in all it means that you don't really know any of them.

what you're talking about sounds more like link or link (that's panENtheism) than pantheism.

I've come round to the idea that I am a Deist.

nice! you're in good company ;)

I've come round to the conclusion of why Christianity is so popular
It's simplistic 10 simple rules to follow

I can't get my head round some of these philosophical believes

hence I am inventing my own religion called simpltonism

and it's very simple

hurting people=bad
anything else=okay
helping people=good

I expect to reach prophet status very soon

Debs, have you abandoned Dazlism? If so, I'll have to ask for your decoder ring back.

Christianity is only popular because the middle ages converted everyone possible within Europe under pain of death or banishment(Crusades, massacres, Reconquista and the expulsion of Jews). Europeans made it to America, spread Christianity.

Voila. Christian missionaires brought it to continental Africa. Voila

I wouldn't call myself Pantheist. I believe in God and that he has tremendous power over all things...but is he everything (is this the true definiton of pantheism, btw)?
I'm skeptical of that.
God wouldn't be the evil things in our world, would he? Would he be the gun, or the bullet that strikes and kills an innocent life? Would God be the cruel white man that hates men of different color during the years of racism? Would God be Hitler as he preached and fought for the murders of innocent people because of their beliefs? Would God be the parent that strikes and harms their child? Would God be the man that strikes and harms a defenseless animal?
Is God the Devil himself?

No, I'm no where near believing pantheism.

sapherequeen, Pantheist don't believe in the kind of god you're picturing. The Pantheist "god" isn't really a god. When Pantheist say that the Universe is their God, they mean that they feel the same awe and reverence that others feel when thinking about their own god/s. Pantheists believe that all life is divine and connected; there isn't a separate entity that controls everything.

^Oh, I see now. Thank you, -HuddyLove-. :)

Well, now that this has been clarified to me, I'm actually not that all against it for now...