" Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine, or more broadly of religious belief"
This guy is pretty smart and has some great videos:
A+ video:
Always love learning about spiritual beliefs that have withstood the test of time.
Dont remember where, but a while back I made a comment about wanting to one day have a house with an entire room of Lapis Lazuli. I should have dreamed bigger…
@NightHawk999 what did you think of your last video “Jesus was a Buddhist monk”?
About 6 months ago after watching various documentaries & talks about ancient history one showed a photo of a stain glass window of Jesus with a pregnant Mary Magdalene in a small church on a Scottish Island.
Pure Land method, like other methods, reverts the ordinary, deluded mind to the Self-nature True Mind. In the process wisdom and buddhahood are eventually attained. The high-level form of Pure Land is practiced by those of deep spiritual capacities:
“When the mind is pure, the Buddha land is pure …to recite the Buddha’s name is to recite the Buddha of the self-mind.”
In its totality, Pure Land reflects the highest teaching of Buddhism as expressed in the Avatamsaka Sutra: mutual identity and interpenetrating, the simplest method contains the ultimate and the ultimate is found in the simplest.
I was pretty disappointed to be honest. I posted it before watching it, (becuase I liked the title), big mistake lol.
However I do think it brought up some interesting points.
I did like the part a about Jesus possibly recieving Buddist teachings. They did not talk about the possiblity that he got the instructions via dreams.
I really liked this quote:
It does look like she has a little bit of a bun in the oven.
The chart has it listed ss being second in age to Animism. I dont know what the difference is between the two.
Appreicate you posting that pic.
I like that it shows just how interconnected religions throught time are.
Whether a Christian Animism | Center for Humans and Nature.
The burning bush, and serpent in eden were the old 2 instances I could think of as Animism im the bible, but I am sure there are many more.
Not sure if you have seen this bumper sticker before, it was floating around a lot a few years ago:
I couldnt find the example of the edited version, but I remember seeing a bumper sticker like the one above in form, but with an addition, it said:
Coexist
Under Christ
Lol, made me laugh, thought that was pretty creative.
Animism is the belief (or perception) that everything is alive and imbued with spirit. All ancient cultures throughout perceive the world in an animistic way. Shamanism refers to healing practices that shamans (traditional healers) engage with in traditional animistic cultures. Shamans typically have relationships with particular nature spirit helpers that help them with their healing work. When Western science began to develop in Europe during the so called “enlightenment” period (not to be confused with Buddhist enlightenment) these earlier animistic beliefs were set aside in favor of a materialistic world view (everything is just matter and only highly complex systems, like the brains of higher animals, are conscious). I believe that there is something that we did gain from the scientific worldview (and this viewpoint has now spread throughout the world) but there is also something that we lost in terms of the animistic and shamanistic perspective. For instance the current global ecological crisis would not have happened if we had kept the perspective that everything in nature is conscious and sacred. And if we take the Buddhist perspective, that this is all a dream, then this is all consciousness and Buddhamind.
I saw a Bumper sticker yesterday: “Jesus love you, but I’m his favorite!”
Although the Bible contains “echoes of an animistic past” it arises primarily out of a worldview of Monotheism, i.e. there is one God and “he” created the world and is separate and “above” the world. Often depicted as a King ruling the world. It comes out of a stage of cultural evolution that was all about Kings and Rulers that rise above the common world below them. Although any attempts to regain a more animistic worldview in these religions is probably an evolution in a good direction.
Interesting, never heard of this theology but my mind went straight to pantheism when I read how you explained it. Didn’t realize there are some dramatic differences.
I don’t know which is truer based off the first experience I had with a rock. Made me truly a believer that there was something within it beyond tangible that I could not express properly. So I’d say I believe they have essence, what kind of essence would be difficult to understand without walking a mile (or 2-25 million years in the case of the stone I experienced a connection with - a moqui marble) in their shoes.
For others wondering the difference between pantheism and animism:
Pantheism and animism are two distinct spiritual or philosophical beliefs, each with its unique perspective on the nature of the universe and the things within it.
Pantheism is the belief that the universe and everything in it is essentially divine. In pantheism, God or the divine is not seen as a separate entity from the universe but is synonymous with it. This means that everything that exists, including stars, mountains, animals, and even humans, is a part of God or the divine essence. Pantheism suggests a form of unity of all things within the divine, emphasizing the sacredness of the entire universe.
Animism, on the other hand, is the belief that all things, including inanimate objects, animals, plants, and even natural phenomena like rivers or mountains, have a spiritual essence or consciousness. Animism perceives the world as being full of spiritual beings and entities. It suggests that non-human entities are animate and alive, each possessing its own spiritual essence. This belief is often associated with various indigenous and shamanistic cultures, where every element of the natural world is seen as having a spirit or a soul.
In summary, while pantheism views the universe as divine and equates all of existence with God, animism sees the world as filled with individual spirits inhabiting both living and non-living entities. Pantheism is more about the unity and divinity of all existence, whereas animism is about the individual spirits and consciousness present in all parts of the natural world.
The above image of Pure Land posted by Bianca reminded me of this one: Mahavideh Kshetra with Lord Shree Simandhar Swami in the middle.
