So what the heck is GAWD if not RuPaul?
She, He... They? And where does it live? Is it really the heavens? Is there even a place where we can join as mere mortals?
Yep...
These are the thoughts that float unhinged in the chewed bubblegum that is my brain. So of course, I must research, right? Otherwise, why do I have these thoughts... and how else do I process them? Well, by feeding the starved squishy bits betwixt the ears and then sharing with everyone I know. In this chapter of the Science of God, I will only be talking about the description of the 'GOD' connected to each religion.
And you get to join in the discovery (。· ε ·。)
According to our current written history, one of the oldest religions is Zoroastrianism, which some would say is the inspiration behind most major monotheistic faiths. In Zoroastrianism God is ever-present, all-knowing and all-powerful. Our tiny lil human consciousnesses cannot fathom its magnitude, it is unchanging and the source of all goodness. Such a fascinating religion and the more I look into it, the more I connect to it. But I also felt that way about Buddhism and Wicca. (Yasssss, She's been THRU IT)
In Wiccan practices (witchcraft) the view on divinity is generally theistic and revolves around Hecate (the goddess) and a Horned God, thereby being dualistic in practice as well. Energy is magic and power that we all can control by speaking it into existence. You can wield the magic connected to whichever god you serve. Some Wiccans can be Polytheists, believing in many deities from the pagan pantheons. For the most part, though the horned man and lady Hecate are the parental supreme.
Voodoo. Why? you make ask pensively. (ó﹏ò。)
Well, my son in his infinite wisdom was like voodoo is a beautiful religion and I was like WHAT? But then I realized I didn't know much about it myself and was basing my opinion on Hollywood's depiction of it, which grinds my own gears. Voodoo (Vodun) Is practiced in many parts of the world, from Africa to Brazil, parts of Haiti and America. It centers around the vodun spirits and other elements of divine essence that govern the Earth, a hierarchy that ranges in power from major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, as well as dozens of ethnic vodun, defenders of a certain clan, tribe, or nation. This religion is varied and has light and dark magic connected to it. To me it feels very akin to witchcraft, it would not surprise me if witchcraft and vodun were like sects of Catholicism only rooted in indigenous culture. ( certainly deserves more of a deep dive in future)
In Satanism, the judeo-christian devil is the God or the God they choose to worship more aptly. It is traditionally based on the 'black mass' Some more-recent forms of spiritual or theistic Satanism recognize Satan as an independent non-Judeo-Christian deity. Other modern Satanic movements, including the U.S.-based Church of Satan (founded 1966), celebrate Satan not as a god but as a symbol of supposedly anti-Christian moral values or as a pre-Christian life principle. Such movements may be atheistic, agnostic, or deistic. They do not promote or practice evil in any literal sense but may profess extreme forms of individualism and ethical egoism and may reject traditional Abrahamic religions, particularly Christianity, as hypocritical and repressive. *as cited from the Online Britannica. (some sects of witchcraft also follow satanism)
In my basic understanding of the Muslim (Islamic) belief that God is seen as the eternal creator and sustainer of all the universe, who eventually will resurrect us in Islam. That Allah (the god) is merciful, perfect, singular, immortal, omnipotent, and infinite in all his attributes. Parallel to the Quran, God is without form or gender although always referred to using the masculine, god transcends all therefore cannot be seen, imagined or replicated. ( as cited in Wiki: The Quran forbids sharing gods image)
Judaism, traditionally Yahweh, the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, delivered the Israelites from slavery and gave them the law of Moses. That it is also a monotheistic conception, that god is only one, removed from the material plane. That god is transcendent and immanent. Like in the Quran, god is not portrayed in any image, the Torah specifically forbade ascribing partners to share his singular sovereignty. There are many names for god in the Jewish faith, my personal favourite is Tzevaot ( of -hosts)
Catholics have many sects but the generalization suggests that God is a large manager living in the heavens, an omnipotent being that expects you to adhere to 10 basic laws whilst spawning us from incest. God is merciful, as long as you admit you're a hot mess because even murderers can be saved as long as they ask for forgiveness. I sound a bit embittered by Catholicism, which would be a fair assessment. Catholic faiths are as varied and manipulative as humans, so it is hard for me to glean a higher intelligence from something that teaches through shame and threatens you with brimstone when you behave as a human does.
(っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ
ANYWHO
One of the last religions I will reference is the Buddhists. One of my personal favourites before Madonna and Lisa Simpson made a big deal about it. Buddhism originated in India and its central teachings emphasize the aim of attaining liberation from attachment to existence, which is said to be marked by impermanence, suffering and the absence of lasting essence. Generally speaking, Buddhism is a religion that does not include the belief in a monotheistic creator deity, of which there are many called Devas. This is another religion that is old AF and has many sects and theories depending on which part of the world you are in.
In summation, religions from all over the world, even those that predate Wikipedia, have two ideas, that there is one god or many. That although some believe there is no god... or that we are souls from other alien races placed here on earth because of some cruel alien overlord ( Scientology ) but for the most part, humanity can agree that there is something larger than us that has created this existence.
There are so many more religions to learn from, Rastafarianism, Hinduism, Baha ìi Faith, Celtic Polytheism, Taoism, Sikhism... So many in fact this blog would have become a novel if I didn't have a plan already set. So I will reflect on these in the next blog where I talk about the rules, are they fair? do they still count in the modern world? Where people use religion as a way to oppress their fellow man, or destroy lives based on some arbitrary law written long before science proved it a fallacy?
Researching for a friend.