3 ms·
I always thought it was to the gods, spirits, kami, whatever "it" or "they" were that allowed you to eat. Though it could be either, or both at once; when membe
by bitwize 2mo ago
I always thought it was to the gods, spirits, kami, whatever "it" or "they" were that allowed you to eat. Though it could be either, or both at once; when members of Native American tribes would make a kill on the hunt, they would pay their respects to the spirit of the animal they just killed. Even if it was the spirit of a fish they had just speared, giving its life so they could eat another day.
I kind of admire the Japanese for their capacity to live humbly and gratefully without need for a big-sky-daddy myth. The world of the traditional Japanese is full of hidden wonders; indeed, it really belongs to them, and we just live in it.
- LargeWu 2mo agoThis is a really bizarre take. Praying to the small, local spirits, like the one of the animal you are about to eat, is noble and beautiful, but praying to a universal god is worthy of mockery? ("sky-daddy myth") I don't really care what people believe, but if you can accept and respect traditions that believe in the supernatural, which includes any spirit, surely beliefs centered around creator gods are no less plausible.
- anigbrowl 2mo agoThe trouble with monotheism is not the belief in the supernatural per se* but the totalizing nature of it. In polytheistic or pantheistic traditions, you're supposed to respect gods because they're more powerful than you and have the inclination and means to bring you low if you're not properly deferential. But they also have limited agency and purview, are understood to be capable of petulance and other chracter-limiting flaws, and relations with them are highly negotiable. Aven from an purely atheistic point of view, they're projections what's good and bad about humanity and its relations with the rest of the world. Monotheistic religions ascribe creative power for everything that exists to their deity of choice, generally accompanied by total omniscience and absolute, unquestionable moral righteousness. You may or may not be able to propitiate or plead with such a god privately, but are almost certainly out of luck as far as dealing with said god's believers. Not to say that polytheistic cultures are inherently placid and easygoing; you could point to anthropological examples of institutionalized human sacrifice or divinely inspired atrocities, feuds etc. However I think the inherent universalism of monotheistic religions gives rise to a higher overall cost function because such religions constitutionally reject the validity of other beliefs.
- manoDev 2mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism
- newfriend 2mo ago>big-sky-daddy myth tips fedora