Omnitheism

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Omnitheism is a neologism from the Latin omni - "all or every" and the Greek theism– defined as "belief in the existence of a God or gods". Omnitheism is the belief that every religion contains at its core an appreciation of the nature of the universe. It differs from Pantheism in the area of monism. Furthermore, some Omnitheists take a more Agnostic view of the spiritual world than do many Pantheists. In this, Omnitheists are somewhat like Deists, preferring to trust personal experience and scientific understanding over faith and tradition. Many Omnitheists are very interested in reconciling scientific understanding with religious beliefs from around the world, so as to develop a unifying religious understanding.

Contents 1 Core Beliefs of Omnitheism 2 Varieties of Omnitheism 2.1 Generation/Creation Beliefs 2.2 Intervention Beliefs 2.3 Spiritual/Death Beliefs 2.4 Theosophic Beliefs 2.5 Theosomatic Beliefs 3 Omnitheistic Churches 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Core Beliefs of Omnitheism

Omnitheists believe that there is a spiritual dimension to all of existence. This concept is usually referred to as the "Creator", the "Force", or the "Universe"- depending on whether the person believes that said dimension is intelligent in and of itself. Either way, the entirety of this spiritual aspect is considered too vast and alien for human comprehension given present understanding.

Omnitheists believe that this spiritual dimension can take on intelligent forms, such as the human soul. They believe that these forms can manifest as "gods", "spirits", "kami", etc. which are capable of communicating with human beings. These forms have a separate and distinct awareness, apart from the whole, but not entirely ignorant of it. Each of these forms is usually believed to be able to create other spiritual beings in some fashion.

Omnitheists believe in researching belief systems to identify key beliefs and to reconcile these with the key beliefs of other religions. Omnitheists eschew the assertion that mythology and moral codes are absolute truths, seeking instead to winnow symbolism and ethical systems that may be presently valuable from bygone cultural mores and traditions.

Omnitheists believe in tolerance, flexibility, reason, and individual understanding. Omnitheists may pray to specific deities or engage in certain forms of worship that they find personally fulfilling; however, they carefully avoid the assertion that any given path is the "only" way. Absolutism is anathema to them.

[edit] Varieties of Omnitheism

The many flavors of Omnitheism are not separate and distinct amongst themselves, but rather embody specific ideas that may be present in a given believer. For instance, a Sentience Omnitheist may or may not believe in reincarnation. Among the known expressions of thought are:

[edit] Generation/Creation Beliefs

These beliefs deal with the origins of life, the universe, and everything:

• Design Omnitheism - The belief that the spiritual dimension of existence is an intelligent, self-aware Creator. This belief usually, though not always, presupposes that said Creator is still actively involved in the maintenance of the Universe.

• Evolutionary Omnitheism - The belief that the spiritual aspect of existence is a natural phoenomenon, like gravity or electro-magnetism. This view holds that spiritual life evolved alongside physical life, and that each may have guided the development of the other. While some who hold this view believe in an intelligent Universe, they do not believe that said intelligence created existence.

• Sentience Omnitheism - The belief that an intelligent spiritual force guides all of existence. Regardless of whether this force is the "Creator" or simply the "Universe", it is usually believed to be remote and alien. Its goals and methods are believed to be beyond the ken of humankind. Even those spiritual beings we call "gods" may not really understand the nature of this force.

[edit] Intervention Beliefs

These beliefs seek to address the question of unexplained phoenomena, i.e.- miracles, magic, etc.:

• Mystical Omnitheism - The belief that all spiritual beings can affect physical reality, usually through the control of random events, such as those occurring on a quantum level. Citing scientific experiments using random number generators, Omnitheist mystics, like Animists, believe that the spirits inhabiting everyday objects can affect reality to help or hinder other physical beings. Likewise, many of these mystics believe that it is theoretically possible for human beings to affect the physical world through spiritual belief.

• Petitional Omnitheism - The belief that some, but not all, spiritual beings are capable of affecting physical reality. This belief usually holds that many of these beings may be convinced to intercede on behalf of lesser beings, in much the same way that a traditional faith promotes prayer to a specific deity.

• Remote Omnitheism - The belief that one or more intelligent spiritual beings have the power to affect physical reality, but that they do so only according to their own designs and that they do not generally intercede in individual affairs.

• Influential Omnitheism - The belief that spiritual beings can only affect the physical world by influencing physical bodies to do so.

[edit] Spiritual/Death Beliefs

These beliefs attempt to address the question of what happens to the "self" after physical death:

• Reincarnation Omnitheism - The belief that spiritual beings which are associated with physical bodies will generally continue to inhabit similar bodies in the future. For instance, human souls will generally be reborn into future human bodies after the body dies. Sometimes connected to Transcendent beliefs, i.e.- reincarnation occurs until some understanding is reached, as in Buddhism.

• Transcendent Omnitheism - The belief that after a physical body dies, the spiritual being associated with it may choose to be freed from the material world and thereafter be capable of a purely spiritual existence.

• Incarnate Omnitheism - The belief that after a physical body dies, the spiritual being associated with it passes automatically into the spiritual realm, never to return to physical form.

• Oblivion Omnitheism - The belief that after a physical body dies, the spiritual being associated with it loses its individuality and becomes nothing but energy.

[edit] Theosophic Beliefs

These beliefs deal with the knowledge of spiritual beings, questions such as the definition of "deity" and the traits thereof:

• Multipartite Omnitheism - The belief that the many aspects, incarnations, or avatars of a given deity or spiritual concept within the same pantheon are indeed the same being. For instance, Shiva, Kali, and Parvati might be the same being, as might Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There are many sub-beliefs along this line of thought, largely having to do with where the distinctions between individual beings lie.

• Animistic Omnitheism - The belief that every single deity, avatar, etc. represents a distinct spiritual being. This animistic belief assumes that the world is teeming with spiritual beings, each of whom is unique. Even inanimate objects may possess a spirit, and said spirit is no less important that an anthropomorphic deity representing an abstract concept.

• Mythic Omnitheism - The belief that every deity is a single spiritual being, possessing essentially the traits described in myth and legend. For instance, there is only one Aphrodite, separate and distinct from Venus and Ishtar.

[edit] Theosomatic Beliefs

These beliefs deal with questions regarding the origins of spiritual beings, as separate and distinct from the physical universe:

• Pantheistic Omnitheism - The belief, as in some forms of Pantheism, that similar deities or concepts in a number of pantheons may all be attempts to define the same prexisting, timeless being. For instance, Shiva, Odin, and Jesus might be the same being, as might Yahweh, Zeus, and the Adad. There are many sub-beliefs along this line of thought, largely having to do with where the distinctions between individual beings lie.

• Denominational Omnitheism - The belief that major differences in the beliefs around a given deity, incarnation, etc. represent separate and distinct beings. Lying between Pantheistic and Secessional Omnitheism, this view generally holds that the spiritual creations of individual beings tend to merge together with those of other like-minded beings to create gestalt beings of greater power and awareness.

• Secessional Omnitheism - The belief that every single personal interpretation of a given deity, avatar, etc. represents a distinct spiritual being. This is a particularly mystical belief, in that it presupposes that each living being creates unique, personal spirit guides or "gods" which are appropriate to their wants, needs, and desires. For example, two persons who worship Allah would in fact be praying to two totally separate beings named "Allah".
  • Aggregational Omnitheism - The belief that similar spiritual beings tend to work together, but that they remain separate and distinct. This is essentially a form of Secessional Omnitheism that is more friendly to Petitional beliefs, in that it tries to explain the "power of prayer".

• Deification Omnitheism - The belief that some or all deities were once physical beings, who upon their death or departure became known as powerful spiritual beings. This is often connected with Mythic beliefs.

[edit] Omnitheistic Churches

There are no known incorporated churches which claim to expound an Omnitheist belief system. It is likely that such organizations would be highly congregational.

[edit] See also

• Paganism
• Cosmotheism
• Unitarian Universalism

[edit] External links

• www.omnitheism.org
• Omnitheism LiveJournal Community
• Omnitheism in a philosophy of religion class"