Agnostic.com

6 1

QUESTION Agnosticism and Divinity

Is it possible to believe in divinity without believing in a god? Is there another word that more accurately describes this sensation?

11Novelist 5 Dec 1
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

6 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

I have recently started calling myself a freethinker or Spinozist instead of a pantheist because of the new age woo that gets associated with it. Words are just symbols we try to convey ideas with. Often the words I use depend on who I am talking to. Recently I gave a short talk in which I freely used the phrases 'Higher power' and 'God of my understanding'. My audience was familiar with these terms and it wasn't necessary for me to explain that I was talking about Nature when I used these terms, because that didn't have much to do with the point I was trying to make.

0

lol. sorry, I didn't see that it was a link. I thought it was a question. 😀

0

If you're a pantheist, you believe in a divinity that is spread throughout the entire Universe, rather than personified in an individual figure.

Pantheism is the idea that the Universe is God.

Right. And I don't beiieve in gods. I'm an atheist. But I believe that (nearly) all of the Universe is sacred. Weapons of war aren't. Torture implements aren't. But everything else.

0

The New York Church of Humanism had something called a "God Concept." Not an actual deity, of course, more like whatever it is that makes us want to self actualize.

1

I think divinity by definition is the property of God that makes it God. I don't see anything that prevents us from being filled with awe and wonder without confusing it for God or the divine. I think of it as a deep appreciation, but nothing mystical.

2

Pantheism? Not sure. That's my best guess.

Yeah, if you read the rest of my blog post on WordPress I mention that pantheism is the closest concept I can come up with but it doesn't really fit with my agnosticism.

I'm not a pantheist, because I don't believe in divinity. I DO, however, consider the Universe to be Sacred. That's a value judgment--an opinion, rather than a claim about the inherent nature of the Universe.

Yes, the idea that all things are sacred basically means nothing is sacred. Unless, of course, you subscribe to a selfish view that elevates yourself (or your group) above other things. This would also mean that a lack of proof is as valuable as presence of proof. I don't understand why belief in the scientific method presupposes a belief that the unproven or intangible also exists.

@Atheopagan -- Sounds like pantheism to me.

11Novelist: I simply disagree.

TommyMeador: But it isn't. There is a concept of divinity in pantheism, and I don't believe in divinity.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:6158
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.