Nontheistic religion
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Nontheistic religions (not to be confused with
Religion can be defined as a relatively-bounded system of beliefs, symbols and practices that addresses the nature of existence, and in which communion with others and Otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends socially-grounded ontologies of time, space, embodiment and knowing.[2]
Buddhism
Existence of gods
The
Since the time of the Buddha, the denial of the existence of a
Metaphysical questions
On one occasion, when presented with a problem of metaphysics by the monk Malunkyaputta, the Buddha responded with the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow. When a man is shot with an arrow thickly smeared with poison, his family summons a doctor to have the poison removed, and the doctor gives an antidote:[8]
But the man refuses to let the doctor do anything before certain questions can be answered. The wounded man demands to know who shot the arrow, what his caste and job is, and why he shot him. He wants to know what kind of bow the man used and how he acquired the ingredients used in preparing the poison. Malunkyaputta, such a man will die before getting the answers to his questions. It is no different for one who follows the Way. I teach only those things necessary to
realize the Way. Things which are not helpful or necessary, I do not teach.
Christianity
A few
Many of them owe much of their theology to the work of
From a nontheistic, naturalist, and rationalist perspective, the concept of divine grace appears to be the same concept as luck.[10]
Nontheist Quakers
A nontheist Friend or an atheist Quaker is someone who affiliates with, identifies with, engages in and/or affirms
Hinduism
Hinduism is characterised by extremely diverse beliefs and practices.
Although the Vedas are broadly concerned with the completion of ritual, there are some elements that can be interpreted as either nontheistic or precursors to the later developments of the nontheistic tradition. The oldest Hindu scripture, the
It is with the
Classical
The Bhagavad Gita, contains passages that bear a monistic reading and others that bear a theistic reading.[32] Generally, the book as a whole has been interpreted by some who see it as containing a primarily nontheistic message,[33] and by others who stress its theistic message.[34] These broadly either follow after either Sankara or Ramanuja[35] An example of a nontheistic passage might be "The supreme Brahman is without any beginning. That is called neither being nor non-being," which Sankara interpreted to mean that Brahman can only be talked of in terms of negation of all attributes—'Neti neti'.[36]
The Advaita Vedanta of Gaudapada and Sankara rejects theism as a consequence of its insistence that Brahman is "Without attributes, indivisible, subtle, inconceivable, and without blemish, Brahman is one and without a second. There is nothing other than He."[37] This means that it lacks properties usually associated with God such as omniscience, perfect goodness, omnipotence, and additionally is identical with the whole of reality, rather than being a causal agent or ruler of it.[38]
Jainism
Jain texts claim that the universe consists of
According to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires, achieves liberation/Nirvana. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. If godliness is defined as the state of having freed one's soul from karmas and the attainment of enlightenment/Nirvana and a god as one who exists in such a state, then those who have achieved such a state can be termed gods (Tirthankara).
Besides scriptural authority, Jains also employ
Others
Philosophical models[
The Church of Satan adheres to LaVeyan Satanism, which is nontheistic.[40] The Satanic Temple was officially recognized as a nontheistic religion in the United States on 25 April 2019.[41]
The
The sociologist Auguste Comte devised a religion called the Religion of Humanity based on his Positivist principles. The Religion of Humanity is not a metaphysical religion and as such there are no gods or supernaturalisms in its belief.[43]
See also
- Antitheism
- Conceptions of God
- Ethical culture
- Falsifiability
- Freethought
- Humanism
- Ietsism
- Irreligion
- Jediism
- Jewish atheism
- Language, Truth, and Logic
- Mu (negative)
- Naturalistic pantheism
- Nondualism
- Pantheism
- Raëlism
- Religious naturalism
- Scientology
- Secular religion
- Syntheism
- Transcendentalism
- Transtheism
- Unitarian Universalism
References
- JSTOR 1384088.
- ^ James, Paul; Mandaville, Peter (2010). Globalization and Culture, Vol. 2: Globalizing Religions. London: Sage Publications. p. xii–xiii.
- ^ John T Bullitt (2005). "The Thirty-one planes of Existence". Access To Insight. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
The suttas describe thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during this long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily dark, grim, and painful hell realms to the most sublime, refined, and exquisitely blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is impermanent; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to both their past kamma and their kamma at the moment of death. When the kammic force that propelled them to that realm is finally exhausted, they pass away, taking rebirth once again elsewhere according to their kamma. And so the wearisome cycle continues.
- ^ Susan Elbaum Jootla (1997). "II. The Buddha Teaches Deities". In Access To Insight (ed.). Teacher of the Devas. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.
Many people worship Maha Brahma as the supreme and eternal creator God, but for the Buddha he is merely a powerful deity still caught within the cycle of repeated existence. In point of fact, "Maha Brahma" is a role or office filled by different individuals at different periods." "His proof included the fact that "many thousands of deities have gone for refuge for life to the recluse Gotama" (MN 95.9). Devas, like humans, develop faith in the Buddha by practicing his teachings." "A second deva concerned with liberation spoke a verse which is partly praise of the Buddha and partly a request for teaching. Using various similes from the animal world, this god showed his admiration and reverence for the Exalted One.", "A discourse called Sakka's Questions (DN 21) took place after he had been a serious disciple of the Buddha for some time. The sutta records a long audience he had with the Blessed One which culminated in his attainment of stream-entry. Their conversation is an excellent example of the Buddha as "teacher of devas," and shows all beings how to work for Nibbana.
- ^ Bhikku, Thanissaro (1997). Kevaddha Sutta. Access To Insight.
When this was said, the Great Brahma said to the monk, 'I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be... That is why I did not say in their presence that I, too, don't know where the four great elements... cease without remainder. So you have acted wrongly, acted incorrectly, in bypassing the Blessed One in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Go right back to the Blessed One and, on arrival, ask him this question. However he answers it, you should take it to heart.
- ^ B. Alan Wallace, Contemplative Science. Columbia University Press, 2007, pages 97–98.
- ^ Principled Atheism in the Buddhist Scholastic Tradition
- ISBN 0-938077-26-0.
- ^ Tillich, Paul. (1951) Systematic Theology, p.205.
- ^ Kaufman, Arnold S. "Ability", The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 60, No. 19
- ^ Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 17.
- ^ Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 51.
- ^ R. C. Zaehner, (1966) Hinduism, P.1-2, Oxford University Press.
- ^ Griffiths, Paul J, (2005) Nontheistic Conceptions of the Divine Ch. 3. in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion by William J Wainwright, p.59 . Oxford University Press .
- ISBN 81-208-0815-0
- ^ O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, (1981)The Rig Veda: An Anthology of One Hundred Eight Hymns (Classic) Penguin
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- ISBN 0-7914-0656-3.
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- ISBN 81-208-0387-6
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- ^ Clements, Richard Pauranik, Being a Witness in Theory and Practice of Yoga by Knut A. Jacobsen
- ^ Yandell, Keith. E., On Interpreting the "Bhagavadgītā", Philosophy East and West 32, no 1 (January 1982).
- ^ Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 45, 98, 115, 136.
- ^ Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, pages 47, 51.
- ISBN 0-521-43878-0
- ISBN 81-7505-150-7
- ^ Richards, John, Viveka-Chudamani of Shankara Vs 468.
- ^ Wainright, William, (2006), Concepts of God, Stanford Encyclopedia of Religion
- ISBN 978-1426940576.
Deism and pan-deism, as well as agnosticism and atheism, are all Non-Theisms.
- ^ Robinson, Eugene (7 September 2016). "My Dinner With The Devil". OZY. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ "Satanic Temple: IRS has designated it a tax-exempt church". AP NEWS. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Neo-Nazi bought church with plans to name it after Trump. A fire destroyed it. - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ Bourdeau, Michel (2021). "Auguste Comte". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved 25 December 2021.