WHEN GIANTS ARISE: The Real World of GHG Emissions and Growth — Iowa Climate Science Education

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Rashid Faridi

Contributed by Robert Lyman © 2021Many people in Europe and North America today take it for granted that what the countries of “the west” decide to do in political … Continue reading The post WHEN GIANTS ARISE: The Real World of GHG Emissions and Growth first appeared on Friends of Science Calgary. via Friends of […]

WHEN GIANTS ARISE: The Real World of GHG Emissions and Growth — Iowa Climate Science Education
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Concept of Animism

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Rashid Faridi

Animism is the idea that all things—animate and inanimate—possess a spirit or an essence. First coined in 1871, animism is a key feature in many ancient religions, especially of indigenous tribal cultures. Animism is a foundational element in the development of ancient human spirituality, and it can be identified in different forms .

  • It is the concept that all elements of the material world—all people, animals, objects, geographic features, and natural phenomena—possess a spirit that connects them to each other.
  • Animism is a feature of various ancient and modern religions, including Shinto, the traditional Japanese folk religion.
  • Today, animism is often used as an anthropological term when discussing different systems of belief.

Animism is often used to illustrate contrasts between ancient beliefs and modern organized religion. It most cases, animism is not considered to be a religion in its own right, but rather a feature of various practices and beliefs.

Animism is a key feature of both ancient and modern spiritual practices, but it wasn’t given its modern definition until the late 1800s. Historians believe that animism is foundational to the human spirituality, dating back to the Paleolithic period and the hominids that existed at that time.

Source of the Spirit

Within indigenous Australian tribal communities, there exists a strong totemist tradition. The totem, usually a plant or an animal, possesses supernatural powers and is held is reverence as an emblem or symbol of the tribal community. Often, there are taboos regarding touching, eating, or harming the totem. The source of the spirit of the totem is the living entity, the plant or the animal, rather than an inanimate object.

By contrast, the Inuit people of North America believe that spirits can possess any entity, animate, inanimate, living, or dead. The belief in spirituality is much broader and holistic, as the spirit is not dependent on the plant or animal, but rather the entity is dependent on the spirit that inhabits it. There are fewer taboos regarding the use of the entity because of a belief that all spirits—human and non-human—are intertwined. 

Modern human beings tend to situate themselves on a Cartesian plane, with mind and matter opposed and unrelated. For example, the concept of the food chain indicates that the connection between different species is solely for the purpose of consumption, decay, and regeneration.

Animists reject this subject-object contrast of Cartesian dualism, instead positioning all things in relationship to one another. For example, Jains follow strict vegetarian or vegan diets that align with their nonviolent beliefs. For Jains, the act of eating is an act of violence against the thing being consumed, so they limit the violence to the species with the fewest senses, according to Jainist doctrine. 

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Learn Religions

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Be Willing To Change

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Rashid Faridi

Breakaway from anything or anyone who keeps you from growing and expanding your horizons. You can’t grow, if you’re not willing to change your …

Be Willing To Change
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Concept of Pantheism

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Rashid Faridi

Pantheism is the belief that God and the universe are one and the same. There is no dividing line between the two. Pantheism is a type of religious belief rather than a specific religion, similar to terms like monotheism (belief in a single God) and polytheism .

Pantheists view God as immanent and impersonal. The belief system grew out of the Scientific Revolution, and pantheists generally are strong supporters of scientific inquiry, as well as religious toleration.

An Immanent God

In being immanent, God is present in all things. God didn’t make the earth or define gravity, but, rather, God is the earth and gravity and everything else in the universe.Because God is uncreated and infinite, the universe is likewise uncreated and infinite. God did not choose one day to make the universe. Rather, it exists precisely because God exists, since the two are the same thing.

Value of Science

This does not need to contradict scientific theories .The changing of the universe is all part of the nature of God as well. It simply states there was something before the Big Bang, God was always there.

Pantheists are generally strong supporters of scientific inquiry. Since God and the universe are one, understanding the universe is how one comes to better understand God.

Unity of Being

Because all things are God, all things are connected and ultimately are of one substance. While various facets of God have defining characteristics (everything from different species to individual people), they are part of a greater whole.

Religious Tolerance

Because all things are ultimately God, all approaches to God can conceivably lead to an understanding of God. Each person should be allowed to pursue such knowledge as they wish. This does not mean, however, that pantheists believe every approach is correct. They generally do not believe in an afterlife, for example, nor do they find merit in strict dogma and ritual.

Pantheism should not be confused with panentheism. Panentheism views God as both immanent and transcendent. This means that while the entire universe is a part of God, God also exists beyond the universe. As such, this God can be a personal God, a conscious being that manifested the universe with whom one can have a personal relationship.

Pantheism is also not deism. Deist beliefs are sometimes described as not having a personal God, but in that case, it is not meant to say the God has no consciousness. The deist God actively created the universe. God is impersonal in the sense that God retreated from the universe after its creation, uninterested in listening to or interacting with believers.

Pantheism is not animism. Animism is the belief that animals, trees, rivers, mountains—all things—have a spirit. However, these spirits are unique rather than being part of a greater spiritual whole. These spirits are frequently approached with reverence and offerings to ensure continued goodwill between humanity and the spirits.

Famous Pantheists

Baruch Spinoza introduced pantheistic beliefs to a wide audience in the 17th century. However, other, less known thinkers had already expressed pantheistic views such as Giordano Bruno, who was burnt at the stake in 1600 for his highly unorthodox beliefs.

Albert Einstein stated,

“I believe in Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.”

He also stated that “science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind,” underscoring that pantheism is neither anti-religious nor atheistic.

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Learn Religions

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