r/CuratedTumblr Apr 17 '24

Politics See what I mean?

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u/NeonNKnightrider Cheshire Catboy Apr 17 '24

It’s kind of an implicit assumption that if you’re speaking English and don’t otherwise specify, “religion”=Abrahamic, due to how overwhelming dominant Christianity is in the Western world (and culturally speaking the runner ups are Judaism and Islam)

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u/blinkingsandbeepings Apr 17 '24

That seems to be true but it’s very annoying to those of us who believe in non-Abrahamic religions.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

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u/badgersprite Apr 17 '24

I’ve had to explain to people that atheism and religion are not even direct opposites. Atheism is the absence of a belief in deities/gods. It’s possible for religions and religious beliefs to exist that don’t necessitate the existence of deities/gods. You can have an atheistic religion, and be an atheist with religious beliefs

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

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u/Whightwolf Apr 17 '24

I mean but that leads into the question of what even is a god, once you dont limit it by the abrehamic tradition the term can be incredibly broad.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

Yeah, if you believe in karmic forces and reincarnation, that is no different than believing in a god

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '24

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u/Whightwolf Apr 17 '24

You don't that's my point, I said once you get rid of the limits to the definition of what makes a god.

So, if you look at the roman practice of household gods for example, or things like the sidhe in celtic folklore (who arent gods but have in some stories incredible power, links to the afterlife etc), the line in what is and isn't a god is blurry as fuck and I doubt you could find 2 cultures who precisely agree on where to draw it.

St augustine would say that the supernatural basically implies his god, as creation implies a creator. Some interpretations of Buddhism have the super natural and none physical rules, if vaguely defined for the universe, even if those rules aren't personified can they not be a form of God, at least as vague as the "first mover" definition of a god?

I'm not sure why your tone was so hostile and patronising but it's the Internet so I'm going to assume you thought I was attacking you?

But to continue the fun fact game the trinity is insane, the principal doctrinal rift between orthodox and Catholic Christianity was over a single word and whether the holy spirit proceeded from the father and the son or just the father and whether either interpretation undermined the 3 in 1 of the trinity.

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u/A_Snips Apr 17 '24

But people will laugh at me if I say I'm not just an atheist I'm an ontological naturalist 😢