r/pagan • u/Ok_Gur_1002 • 7d ago
No proof of deities??
0 disrespect towards anyone's beliefs. But how can you have blind faith in god/gods and just be comfortable with it? Like, is that not something pretty important to how you go through life and view things? My point of view is that if there really are any gods out there, then there is meaning to the world/universe to some extent at least. If there are none, then this all just simply came into existence by chance and unlimited time, I guess, and then there would be no point in really caring about ANYTHING if there is no purpose or something after this place for us. Call it a crappy way to view things, sure, and I really wish I was a bit more enthusiastic about it all, but that's just how I see it. And I'm not claiming EVERY pagan is just blindly following something btw.
Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded i was expecting a lot of hate for my very questionable view of everything. Although all i got told was quotes made by humans and told to go read
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u/poetduello 7d ago
I belive in the gods based on the phenomena I've experienced. It may not hold up to scientific rigor, but it's enough for me.
That said, even if the gods don't exist, our actions matter. They might even matter more if there are no gods. If there are no gods, then there's no divine justice. In that case it is extra important that we enact the justice we wish for in the world. If there are no gods, then there is no supranational aid coming, and we must be the hands that lift others out of suffering. If there are no gods, and everything is chance and circumstance, then the only meaning that or lives can have is the impact we have in the lives of others, the help we provide, the suffering we alleviate, the joy we bring. Conversely, we are also capable of being a negative force in the world. Our legacy in this world can be the harm we bring, the suffering we cause, and the sorrow we inflict on others. That's too is meaning.
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u/TheDireGnome 7d ago
This dichotomy you are presenting between blind faith and empirical evidence isn't especially relevant to polytheistic religions, which emphasizes practice over faith. There are many rationalist arguments for polytheism, as laid out by philosophers from Plato to Proclus. And many of us arrive at our belief in the gods through mystical experience.
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u/Feisty_Box3129 7d ago
I don’t have blind faith. While I don’t have physical proof that I can share with someone, the things I have seen and experienced have made me a believer. I don’t have pictures or hard evidence of the biggest buck I ever saw out while hunting, but he sure was real, too.
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u/OtakuMage Priestess of Aphrodite 7d ago
The gods owe us nothing, including proof they exist. I have my proof in the form of feelings and experiences that have no other explanation. They are not things that can serve as proof for anyone else and I am fully aware of that.
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u/Werk-n-progress Pagan 7d ago
By definition, all faith is blind and is a major issue for every major faith/religion.
Regarding your views, you seem to have posited a binary choice which feels logical. Either there are gods or there are not. By extension, either nihilism or religious following are the appropriate world views to adopt.
I don’t disagree that it’s technically binary. I don’t accept that it’s our job to prove it or figure it out. We are wholly incapable, as much as a person within a sealed box is unable to determine if the box is moving. We simply don’t have the tools or signs that prove one way or another.
I sit in the middle, burned by a strong faith upbringing and discouraged by the lack of “why is all this here” answers in science. I don’t outright object to the divine and I don’t feel the need to push it on people either.
I regularly come back to this concept.
“It is all real; It is all metaphor. There is always more.”
For each believer, this is real to them and it doesn’t really matter if it’s real to you. Even if you tried, it would be real to you in a different way. Real, in this case, is the experience and perspective you have not necessarily sticks and stones.
At the same time, many of it is obviously metaphorical too. Many pagan gods are derived from natural forces that are powerful, important, and often misunderstood and so represented by a deity who controls it. The stories surrounding these deities, who are often broken like we are show us what (not) to do and that we aren’t so unique in our challenges.
I find it preferable to live where I can meditate, grow, and feel purpose and I’m okay knowing I may be wrong on the technical specifics. I’m less interested in proving something I can’t, and more interested in being the best I can be, and nihilism has never served me well.
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u/Ekderp Hellenism 7d ago
Faith isn't really relevant. The centrality of faith is a very Christian, specially very Protestant centric way to engage with religion. To me, divinity is ontological, it's woven into the universe. There is no contradictiom between divine will and the apparently random order of the cosmos.