one_raven said:
I acknowledge my own contradictions. As I stated in an early post on this thread I waver between paganism & Buddhism. When I mentioned monotheism I was referring to the Abrahamic religions as they are the most powerful & influential and what most people understand by monotheism.
A godless monotheism. Surely that's an oxymoron. I don't really understand how to do it other than by "inventing" a religion.
Mother Earth/Gaia is a living force. She is the one goddess. In such a case locusts have to eat, volcanos have to erupt and whirlwinds have to whirl. None of these events could be classified as good or evil as they are the natural effects of Gaia feeding her children, burping and breaking wind. Man then being part of this living force would accept all this as the corollary of being at one with the living force. In this scenario there is no inconsistency. But how many people believe in this form of monotheism?
Besides man's consciousness has evolved(?). And in evolving his consciousness has developed the concepts of good and evil. He has alienated himself from Gaia and now tries to control her rather than allow Gaia the freedom to breathe. Man sees himself as a separate being. No longer part of Gaia but in control of her. Thus in control of god/goddess. This is probably why the Abrahamic religions were created by man. If you create god then you are in control of him.
This may be an unsatisfactory explanation but I am still working on a satisfactory explanation for myself.
