@@MindShift-BrandonContestant #2 is also a pretty boy/Bishounen due to being very handsome. And Ammy-chan is the MC of the CAPCOM game Okami in the form of a white wolf
In general, I have a lot more respect for religious traditions in which they didn't/don't pretend the gods are perfect, all-knowing, all-loving, etc. while repeatedly depicting them as the opposite of those things. It takes care of the problem of evil quite handily while simultaneously feeling more in-line with the world we actually live in, where bad things happen to good people for no good reason all the time.
Saldy, this video is proof that people reject the God of the bible due to emotional reasons. NOT rational reasons. There are no logical reasons to hate Yahweh. As Jesus said "They hated Me without reason." John 15:25
@@micahhenley589I'm assuming you haven't watched any of his other videos, because he does go in depth about rational reasons to not believe in God in other vids.
@@micahhenley589 "There are no logical reasons to hate Yahweh." There are no logical reasons to love Yahweh either. "emotional reasons" Love and hate are emotions, if you were not aware. "Saldy, this video is proof that people reject the God of the bible due to emotional reasons." How so? He listed all the other gods that he liked much better than Yahweh but still "rejected".
@@micahhenley589You're probably a troll but Commanding genocide, endorsing slavery, punishing his creations for doing a thing they were incapable of knowing was wrong and then blaming the rest of humanity for etc etc The god of the bible is depicted as a cosmic tyrant, the biggest bully in existence. Completely rational to hate insofar as you'd hate any fictional character with a list of atrocities to their name.
I'm down with Lord Krishna. He's blue, likes to dance and play the flute. The kind of God you could chill on a lotus with after tripping on the sacred drink of soma.
Plus you get to wear orange, shave your head and play the tambourine while asking people with paying jobs for some of the money they got from the devil.
@@underoakss Was gonna post a link, but really there's so many, I couldn't decide! Just input "Krishna stealing gopis clothes" to youtube, there's lots of Hindus eager to explain this...
The very idea that 'there must be other gods better than Yahweh' is what led me to Hellenistic Polytheism - even as a true agnostic. I don't believe in the gods I worship (primarily Hestia, Ares, and Dionysos), but I do believe and meditate on their qualities, and that in and of itself brings me more solace than belief in Yahweh ever did - which was confuse me and depress me.
You kinda hit upon the magic formula with that. As much as these beings are made up, they have the same very real power that all fictional stories have: They can show us new perspectives and new ideas, which we can choose to adopt for ourselves. I don't have to believe that Yahweh is real or even that Jesus was a real person (though I believe he probably was) in order to find immense value in the story of the Good Samaritan. A story meant to teach us that we shouldn't assume that everyone in an opposing group is a horrible person, or even that everyone in _our_ group is a good person. Your true allies, your "neighbors", are the ones who will care for you and do right by you, not leave you to die on the side of the road. Even if that person is from a society you're told is composed only of truly wicked people. We can read stories like these, and take these lessons to heart, and grow and improve as human beings in our own lives, without EVER needing to say "I must believe that this factually happened" in order to get that effect. So if you don't believe that these beings exist in reality, but it helps you to think of what they would do and what they would want...well, I do exactly the same thing with characters from anime and video games. I'd say it doesn't make you a theist, at least not the way you described it here. True atheists can still read religious texts and gain insight and wisdom. We just don't feel obligated to accept the harmful aspects as well, because to us it's not about it being accurate, it's about improving ourselves.
@@riluna3695not really, not a single story in the Bible holds any value. Not even the “ Good Samaritan” one. The Bible is filled with barbaric violent stories.
@@Mayan_88694 All of them, without exception, have zero redeeming qualities? There's NOTHING good you can find among the bad and pull out just that one thing and appreciate it? I feel like I gave a good case for the Good Samaritan story. Do you have a counterpoint to that, an alternative take that shows it in a more harmful, barbaric light? If I'm missing something important, I definitely want to know about it.
@@WhiteScorpio2 I worship Ares not because ancient greeks did, but because his qualities align with mine. Strength and stalwartness even in the face of adversity. The want for a structured and orderly community. Being able to fight (for me, verbally) and find success. Working out and honing oneself to the best of their abilities. Not being bloodthirsty, but knowing yourself and those you pose against to better understand the other side and be able to choose your battles. As well as being a strong paternal figure, I find Ares to be personally inspiring.
God: Women stay away from everyone for 7 days while you're on your periods, its very important!!! Also God: Hm, that slavery thing isnt really that bad, plus im only allowing it bc their hearts are stubborn... *sees someone mix fabrics* OH HELL NO
My favorite example is when Yaweh, that petulant death god, in a fit of rage and pettiness, literally said "fuck free will", hardened pharoh's heart, and then went "AYYYY MASS MURDER TIME BABY! LETS GO!" cause you know...its fine when their god does it.
@CrystEarthPaw And then he hardens Pharaoh's heart again so that he can split the Red (or Reed) sea, bc yk, mysterious ways or whatever. But forget the people in Pharaoh's armies that died and then ended up going to hell right. It's just terrible, good thing he isn't real.
@@wannabe_scholar82 I mean not only did the soldiers and people in the army of pharoh go to hell, but all those firstborns did too, because you know, not only were they made examples of. Now they get to be punished for it too for all of eternity...because ummm? JuStIcE? freaking sociopaths all of them, including their god.
Hades was always a favorite of mine. I hate how most movies adaptations list him as the "bad guy". He took the part his brothers didn't want and does it with diligence. Also, everyone loves Spot 😅😅
He's also a lot more faithful to his wife than either brother. I only know of one side piece called Mint or Mynthe but that's all I can come up with in comparison to literally dozens by Zeus.
I figured that out at around age 12. I lost interest in religion at the same time. That was over 60 years ago. I went through the motions for a few years more and after that only attended religious services to keep other folks happy. (Weddings, funerals, etc.)
While I'm not a Taoist, I find this description of the Tao in Stephen Mitchell's translation of the Tao Te Ching moving, and so very different from the description of the Christian God (especially the last line). To me it seems similar to the concept of Brahman in Vedanta. There was something formless and perfect Before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao. It has no desires for itself; Thus it is present for all beings. - “The great Tao flows everywhere. All things are born from it, yet it doesn’t create them. It pours itself into its work, yet it makes no claim. It nourishes infinite worlds, yet it doesn’t hold onto them. Since it is merged with all things and hidden in their hearts, it can be called humble. Since all things vanish into it and it alone endures, it can be called great. It isn’t aware of its greatness, thus it is truly great.”
Thanks Brandon. As an atheist with religious trauma, I real appreciate content like this-- almost gives permission to worship other god without worry. Was taught that Yahweh was the one and only, and when I became an atheist I found I can make my own purpose and can frame it in religious stories. I can worship anything I want and the Yahweh believers are still just making shit up... but worst shit. Lol thanks
@@tsarchasm1499 That's quite the assumption you're making. Sapien was unspecific about what they went through, so the fact that you're claiming it to be "had to go to church sometimes" despite their use of the word Trauma says far more about you and your experiences than it does theirs. Perhaps instead of jumping immediately to the conclusion that they're whining over nothing, you might actually ask them to describe their experience and explain why they consider it traumatic. They are, of course, under no obligation to actually answer you, but I'm sure asking politely would go a long way. Or would you prefer to stay ignorant of the genuine harm that religion can cause so that you can continue believing that your religion has a monopoly on morality? I am of course jumping to my own conclusions at this point, but I'll put my money where my mouth is and say that if I guessed wrong, I will freely admit it and even apologize for the accusation of dishonesty. I wonder if you'd be willing to do the same.
@@riluna3695 I feel like tsarchasm is mostly judging from their own experience, then they prescribe their experience everywhere else. "Why you crying? You didn't truly suffer." It may be a lost cause for them unless they are willing to change their mind. Then again, I've looked at tsarchasm's profile, and it looks like a 10 year old using a RU-vid account.
When I was in college, I missed my first Mythology class because I was sick. So, before the second class started, I asked my teacher for a syllabus. I quickly read it and asked her when we would cover the Bible? She nearly choked, paused to collect herself, and cleverly got out of the situation by telling me that we only had time to cover the Greek and Roman gods. I wish I knew back then that the New Testament was originally written in Greek, cause I might have pushed her a little further!
Re Athena: She was a defending warrior. She never advocated for war nor took any pleasure in it, unlike half brother Ares. She was a wise strategist and tactician. She was the patron of crafts and weaving. She gifted Athens the olive tree and fresh water springs. Her companion was the owl that learns by watching and listening, the second step to wisdom.
Tell that to the Trojans who fought defensive war and had Ares on their side, while Athena was urging Achilles to slaughter everyone without mercy, because she lost an apple to Aphrodite.
"She never advocated for war nor took any pleasure in it, unlike half brother Ares." She was a goddess of righteous, honorable war, but that didn't always mean a defensive war. Like a poster above said, she supported Acheans in the Trojan war, because Trojans offended Greeks, so the war against them was "justified".
There is a well-known story of a woman named Medusa, who was being pursued by someone who was trying to SA her. She took refuge in Athena's temple, believing her goddess would protect her. She was instead raped inside the temple, and Athena was so furious that this woman--not the attacker--had defiled her temple, that she turned the victim who came to her in desperate need, into a Gorgon. As a punishment. Athena has just as many issues as her dad, in truth. She has been smoothed-over by modern Wiccans & pagans, but the original tales are not pretty. Same with Artemis; Aphrodite; they were all fairly dysfunctional.
@@tarksurmani6335 ".... gods made in the image of man." Just like the people who created her stories she had her downside. The number she did on Arachne was obsessive to requirements.
I too read the Bhagavad Gita. There is one quote from Krishna that I put up on my wall, "You only have a right to the action itself and never to the fruits of that action. Do not make the rewards of action your motive and do not develop any attachment for avoiding action." In my particular life this has been helpful and meaningful though I don't believe in Krishna. Quan Yin for the win though!
@@EmissaryOfStuff Existence itself, to be, truth, or logic are ontological synonyms for the transcendent: that which is without beginning or end and which cannot 'not be' as is demonstrated through antinomies such as 'there is no truth' or 'nothing is'. Existence in and of itself, or any of its synonyms, is the singularly self-evident axiom from which all else is derived. That is the referent for the term God, per the ineffable Mosaic Hebrew theonym יהוה derived from the root verb hayah meaning "to be."
Kali has been a god that I've really respected upon learning about her, and that was back when I was still Christian. Hell, I remember going to her defense against other Christians that called her "demonic".
While I like a little crazy in women, kali might take it too far. She's almost destroyed the world by doing to her was the equivalent of kicking a can down the road.
As a Buddhist, picking Ganesha and Guanyin are major W's, but just to represent the Theravadins in the audience, there's a lot to be said for Sakka and the Four Heavenly Kings. Good all-purpose deities.
Vajrayana Buddhist here; there is an entire host of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas we work with. The Bodhisattva Vow of Mahayana & Vajrayana: With the wish to free All Beings, I shall always go for Refuge, in The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, Until I attain complete enlightenment. Enthused by compassion and wisdom, Today, in Buddha's Presence, I generate the Mind of Enlightenment, For the sake of all Sentient Beings. And for as long as space endures, And as long as Sentient Beings remain, Until then may I, too, abide, To dispell the misery of the world. -- Dalai Lama You vow to return to help, indefinitely, until everyone is saved from Samsara; training as you go, to be more and more a participant in helpful solutions, instead of causing more problems. It does take guts, which you develop along the way. You try to do the least amount of harm, and the most amount of benefit possible, while working to shift personal habits from negative tendencies to positive tendencies. It is very esoteric and ritualized in some aspects, however, this appeals to me, personally. Dzogchen however, can be more Zen-like. There is great emphasis on altruism, and the ultimate nature of reality. On this path, you do rely on the support and training of people who have already mastered the techniques, as developed over millennia, and can give clear pointing-out instructions so the path may be clearly followed. This helps avoid mistakes, or repair them when made. It can be swift, or take forever, literally, depending upon how much goofing around the practitioner does vs dedication to the training. Progress is made with actual signs of accomplishment and completion, arising naturally as the Consciousness develops. We are taught there are 86,000 different types of Mindstream (Consciousness) and thus there are 86,000 different ways to attain enlightenment. So, we are taught to live and let live, and to choose the training best fit for our own conditions, and encourage others to practice whatever brings them closer to the Divine. Basically, until we are Enlightened ourselves, we cannot expect to fully understand the cause and effects that other beings are experiencing. Until we pull that log out of our own eye, we can't offer to remove the splinter from someone else's eye. Sound familiar?... The Buddhas are considered the highest form of Consciousness evolution (Zero-Point Ultimate Unity of Infinite Variety) with Bodhisattvas being any being who has simply taken the Vow, and begun such a dedicated training, progressing through different levels until full buddhahood is attained. All other forms of the Six Realms of existence, from Gods, Demigods, Humans, Animals, Pretas, and Hell Beings (demons), are formed from habitual thoughts, words, actions, and energies, that create reality through interdependence, and cause and effect. They are considered actual forms a Consciousness can take on/be born into, depending upon their habitual tendencies. We do believe in reincarnation. Extraterrestrials are considered a normal thing; we believe in paranormal things, also, as pretty much everything is covered in those 6 classes of Beings aforementioned. Like, its not as simple as simply not believing in the Abrahamic god: he's just considered one of many, many different demigods from all over the 3,000-Fold Universe (Samsara). There are Formed (physical) gods, Formless (purely conscious/energetic) gods, demonic gods, etc. Demigods, similarly, tend to be less powerful and have a much smaller area of effect; this class also includes elemental beings, such as we think of sylphs, Djinn, Ifret, etc; both corporeal and non-corporeal Beings as well, and those that shape-shift, like the subterranean reptilian Nagas, etc. "Human" includes anything that is humanoid, like extraterrestrials and some interdimensional/fey Beings. Animal class includes everything else corporeal but non-human/non-paranormal; Pretas are translated as "hungry ghosts" but are really somewhere between ghosts & ghouls--not Hollywood disembodied dead people--but actual karmic birth forms (closest example is like the "night/Canadian crawlers" "the Rake" "skin walkers"). Traditionally, they are considered dangerous to humans and animals and stalk charnal grounds, cemeteries, cursed lonely places, and subterranean caves, etc... Hell Beings includes those born into any of the 16 Hells: 8 hot hells, 8 freezing hells...and demonic Beings who are not necessarily powerful, but trapped in any such state of tormented existence. Because reality (Samsara) is seen as being relative to both our individual and group karmas, it is seen as changeable. There is no such thing as eternal damnation in Dharma; just periods of extended suffering until the karmas fueling that suffering is exhausted or transmuted into something else. There is also no "blanket forgiveness", negative karma has to be owned, responsibility taken, and improvement made within the Consciousness itself, via training different habits that produce different outcomes. Some habits are very esoteric and deal with extremely subtle tendencies. Some habits are blind, and without a spiritual friend to point them out, might go unadjusted. There are purification rituals, etc--which focus on healing and adjusting the underlying habits/karmas. It is both very simple, and very complex, simultaneously. If you have practiced dharma in previous lifetimes, to the point of Conscious habit, you will be inexplicably drawn to it again in future lives, as long as you maintain the karmic interdependence with your ultimate goal. Also, Buddhas can (& do) arrise from every class of being, though it is easiest to attain buddhahood while in a human form, as It was intentionally created to be a sort of nexus vehicle for this exact purpose. Which is why human life is considered rare and incredibly important, and why different yogas were developed--to speed things up considerably. The more training done, the easier it becomes to retain information from previous births. Reincarnated masters must correctly identify their old belongings from their previous birth and recognize students & teachers they used to know. Continuity is thus maintained from rebirth to rebirth. Oh, and there are/were 11 genders, which were historically recognized in India, and seen as not only perfectly normal, but in some cases, a rare blessing and sign of a highly advanced spiritual being who has balanced their masculine and feminine energies in different yet specific combinations. 🤷🏼♀️🌈 Sorry for the essay; there's a Lot more I haven't covered, but it's the gist of it. (Edit: added more spaces for clarity.)
How about a God who doesn't torture and torment his own devout worshipers? Job, Adam, Eve, Cain, Able, Moses, Solomon, Lot, etc. Jehovah/Yahweh tortured them all.
I actually have a statue of Ganesha on my desk and sometimes I tell him "let's not give up just yet", and this helps me a bit with my depression. Behold the power of positive affirmation.
I am always amazed when a Christian talks to me about the Bible and I ask them if they ever read the entirety of it and I have yet to find one that has.
@@TheMilitantMazdakiteNot familiar with it. I’m a fan of the brand and live in Northern Delaware, so when I’m in the market I’ll probably go to Wilmington Mazda.
I like the idea of Polytheism, where you don't have an "everything in one" absolute God, but you have different specific deities that you can choose to worship. My favorites are always gods of art and knowledge like Thoth, Apollo or Saraswati.
Did you know? When the greeks learn of Thoth, they wanted to write about him to keep records. And they want to write with their own alphabet, and so they chose to write it as th(eta) o(mega) th(eta). When written, theta looks like an "O" no matter if its lowercase or uppercase, while omega in lowercase looks like a "w'. So if you want to ask thoth something, you can write it as "Owo, whats this?"
I'm deeply spiritual but cannot ignore the hypocrisy and damage organized religion has done. Thank you for the lesson of what is available. I want to know more and be inspired to create, learn, and love like these other god's teachings.
There used to be an atheist blogger who got tired of Christians telling him everybody worships something, even atheists. So he decided to change his blog name to Aletheian. He claimed to worship Aletheia, the word for truth in Greek. I thought that was pretty creative . lol
Fascinating. One of the main and most obvious reasons I've always had for being skeptical about the Christian god is the simple fact that there have been hundreds of religions and thousands of gods over the course of humankind and each one with followers who were just as devout and unshaking in their belief as Christians are today. But all of those simply don't matter just...because? I've always had an inkling to learn more about different religions/gods but just never get around to actually sitting down and learning about them because *god* knows where to even start. I love channels like yours because you've actually had experience deep diving into it all and can teach us about it in a concise and matter of fact way. After watching your video on the reasons heaven is terrible I was sold lol I've had so many of those same questions. And any time I hear or see a clip online of some pastor/teacher trying to explain those concepts, they never once address the problems with the actual reality of existing forever, what form you exist in, what memories you carry, what we'd all actually be doing for eternity beyond basking in Gods glory, the fact that negative emotions like sadness or meloncholy can actually be comforting/enjoyable and so if an entire half of the emotional spectrum is nonexistent in heaven then we're actually experiencing LESS true happiness, etc. Anyway, fantastic stuff, man.
I have my own imaginary gods that I've created names and faces for. They don't promise much, they're only there to comfort me when things get rough and help bring creativity and joy into my life.
Odin is my pick overall. After leaving Christianity, I did a short stint in Norse Paganism and Odin immediately became my favorite. The cool thing about the Norse gods is they are approachable and easily identified with. They have a lot of human qualities and imperfections. They don't require blind obedience nor rule through fear. They are also not all powerful. They are there to show humans the benefits and consequences of actions through their own examples. They want us to find the strength and qualities within our selves to accomplish our goals, not rely on them to do everything for us. They are very empowering. Also, in some versions of the Norse afterlife you could end up in a certain god's realm depending on how you lived your life or who you devoted your life to. Those who followed Thor's example may find themselves in his realm. Or you might go with Frey, Freya, or others. And it's never about worshipping said god for all eternity. It's about fellowship with them and others who find themselves there. Hel is typically viewed as a sort of meaningless existence. Similar to the Jewish Sheol or some versions of Hades. Basically an eternal sleep for those who led mundane lives and weren't particularly bad or good. Niflheim is where particularly bad people go. Of course, there are many different stories that surround the Norse afterlife and many contradict each other. But the Norse afterlife sounds like it has many diverse possibilities and as long as you're not a particularly bad person, you'll find yourself in a place without suffering.
#2, Quetzalcoatl is pretty rad. probably one of the most benevolent in that pantheon so totally agree. Also priests of quetzalcoatl/kukulkhan typically engaged only in animal sacrifices as opposed to humans, often insects or birds. And sacrifices were seen as fuel for the sun, if they didn't do it, the sun would die. It wasn't mindless carnage, and it wasn't "undesirables" who were sacrificed, could be anyone from any background even the priests themselves. Obviously today we'd be a bit more symbolic. But otherwise i'm board with quetzalcoatl.
Hestia has been my go to for a few years. Making the home comfortable and inviting. Small Gods (Terry Pratchett), American Gods (Neil Gaiman) - Both deal with gods being brought into being by belief. Both very fun reads.
One could take Sir Pratchett’s (GNU) and Gaiman’s books to a desert island and be content for a long while waiting for rescue. Bonus points for Neal Stephenson…
As someone who's Half-Mexican, I'm DOWN with Quetzalcoatl. But I'm also studying Japanese and loving the country itself, I wouldn't mind worshipping Amaterasu.
This is the best video about other gods that I have ever seen. It makes me want to know more about the other gods past civilizations had and worshiped. I didn't know about the different attributes of the 10 gods you mentioned. I will go back and write down the names of the gods you talked about and research them myself. Again, thank you very much for this insightful and informative video. It makes me think more about the past and what was worshipped and why. Take care and am looking forward to more good videos.
@@MindShift-Brandon My pleasure. I want to be able to talk to those who say you must worship their god and show them that there are/were other gods that were/are superior to the one they worship. Quetzalcoatl and Hathor are the two that I would like to see being real for what they bring to man and not take from him.
@@55Quirllsounds like you've got the start of the Diefic Hotline. Now to think of the other gods in the listing and some of the nonsense people get into with it. Might be a good set of Shorts on RU-vid
Phra Mae Thorani (Vasundhara) is the mythological Earth Goddess who came to assist the Buddha when he was tempted by Mara while sitting under the Bohdi tree. She rose up to wring the waters of detachment out of her hair to drown the tempting demon. The poetic imagery is very striking. Her statues are dotted around Southeast Asia.
From your list, Guanyin would have to be near the top for me - on top of everything you listed, as a Chinese deity she is adapted from a Bodhisattva - in other words, she's a being who put off achieving nirvana, even though she could attain it, in order to help everyone else first. Now, there's a selfless sacrifice. Another deity that actually gave something up for others was Prometheus, and though Hesiod just gave him the character of a trickster, the more sympathetic portrayal familiar with us, popularized, I think, by Aeschylus, is one that so many should get behind. He's a symbol of defying autocracy and delivering knowledge, wisdom, and autonomy to others, at great risk to himself. Though he is the god of foresight (which is always handy) he can't easily have predicted he'd be rescued from his imprisonment, chained to Mount Elbrus and having his liver torn out every day, as that would require more premonition than foresight. Again, a bigger sacrifice than Jesus'. I might also want to beat the drum for Isis, whose name has rather awful associations these days, and perhaps needs her reputation repaired. Though, like Yahweh, she ended up being overloaded with roles (and a deity that explains everything ultimately explains nothing), these roles included the nurturing traits of Hathor, as well as her original role in helping guide people through the afterlife, a much nicer resume than Yahweh's early life as a war and storm god. She became so popular in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, that was one of the last pagan deities in the Mediterranean to still be worshiped after Christianity had asserted itself for quite some time. And whilst we're on the subject of Egypt, let's give an honourable mention to Bastet as well, mostly because she's a cat, but also because she was both the goddess of childbirth, and a goddess of protection against contagious diseases. Ultimately a far better combination for maternity than what Yahweh decided to saddle mothers with.
Tara, mother of all the buddhas, is the embodiment of wisdom, creativity, and awareness. She protects seekers of enlightenment, and she liberates people from suffering.
But he did leave out Dionysus' reign over madness. He's not totally a party animal or hedonistic god. He has that on his plate as well, warning you not to go too far.
@@druidriley3163 oh for sure, i know lol, i’ve been following him for two years. think of it like how apollo’s domain is medicine, he can cure or cause disease, it’s similar to that
One thing with Quezalquatl is that he was not only an aztec god, but one worshiped in a wide area over South and Middle America, many peoples of wich considered Quezalquatl a god who specifically was against human sacrifice. Yep, he was a really nice deity and my favorite of that specific pantheon. When it comes to Egypt, Hathor is a good choice as well. I am a bit conflicted here, however, as Thoth really appeals to me too.
I was raised Christian and I hate it. I have my favorites. Do not forget that Jahwe burnt Sodom and Gomorrah and sent the flood on which he only save Noah and his arc. I totally love Ganesha? I had a ferret named after him and my cat was named Kali.I love this video.
I would like to encourage everyone to remember Masha Amini. She is the 22 year old woman who died one year ago today after being beat to death by Iranian police for not wearing her headscarf properly. 💔
I think the god that gets slandered the most is Satan. Because Christianity wants to claim this monotheistic title, these lesser gods aren’t even allowed to be called gods. BTW, not saying Satan deserves worship, since he killed Job’s family for no good reason, but besides that, everything evil gets tossed on him. As he’s YHWH’s personal scapegoat.
Actually thay wasn't Satan. So, some Bible studiers said that the being that God was bragging to about Job is only known as the Adversary, which was a kind of "lawyer" like being used to question God. Soooo, basically, God talked himself into a bet that Job would stop worshipping him after causing him death and pestilence. Which is another mark against Yahweh. :/
@@Callimo look up what the original Hebrew pronunciation of “the adversary” is from the book of Job, this is the Satan I’m referring to. The original Satan. The first appearance of the supernatural adversary, before all the other tales were attributed to him (or her). 🙂
I like Hekate, honestly. I've been a witch for 20 years now, and I recently started working with her. She's honestly the kindest, most caring, most nurturing Goddess I've ever worked with. She was labeled the savior, the mother of angels, ruler of the sky, land and sea, and the one of brings the light. She has lots of dark myths about her of course, but I've never worked with a deity closest to the christian god in feel.
I'm interested but it's not because I'm shopping around for a god to believe in. These, including the god of the Bible are constructed from the minds of humans. It's clear and beneficial that there are lots of ways to think about things beyond ourselves and our ability to understand and control.
Love this. I knew only a fraction of the deities you talked about but had similar feelings to those you expressed here. This was a fun comparison list.
As an Asatru, I agree with Odin being on the list. If you want another Norse deity to check out Tyr and Bragi are ones that I suggest. There is also Thor, who has been helpful in my life. I suggest any of those.
Look at what Jesus promised, no suffering and paradise on earth. And what do you see? Suffering and not paradise. Now look at what Odin promised, no frost giants. And what do you see, when was the last time that you saw a frost giant? I haven't seen one around recently.
For what it's worth, Krishna also said to not pray to gods who didn't do anything for you (though in this case, it was about how a village of goatherders should pray to their mountain rather than Indra, AKA, Hindu-Zeus), and had an entire story against being too proud of your devotion to god and against letting religious fundamentalism turn you into a murderous whackjob who couldn't recognize their god of he walked right in front of them.
Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan is actually pretty interesting, like I think someone else in the comments said. Mythologically in most stories, he was the one who saved humanity from extinction through an underworld journey and his followers usually opposed human sacrifice (preferring bleeding and such to fuel the sun) after he returned humans to the world and is often described as loving humans and their flaws, literally going to hell and back to save them. Also, dragon gods are just cool in general lmao
I'm a student of Vedanta, and while I think he's a fictional character, I am a fan of Krishna (I even have a little statue of him in my apartment). So I was delighted to see him at the end of your list.
@@livamath6733 "God is not real"-- The ineffable Mosaic Hebrew theonym יהוה is derived from the root verb hayah meaning "to be." That is, God is existence in and of Himself. Are you suggesting that existence in and of itself is a fiction?
@@livamath6733 "universe is god" --- The universe is a thing which exists and can cease to exist. God is not a thing. God is that whereby all things have their being. God is existence in and of Himself. Existence itself cannot not be. “Deus est ipsum esse per se subsistens, ex quo oportet quod totam perfectionem essendi in se contineat” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 4, a. 2)
Another God i REALLY like is Shesha the King of Serpents in Hindu Mythology. He's a gigantic cobra with a main head and thousands of other heads that form the hood, a being who rejected his family's cruel ways and went meditating in the cosmos until Brahma told him his task would be keeping the world and cosmos in balance and partaking in the endless creation of the cosmos. He has a great friendship and brotherly bond with Vishnu and all his avatars and he curls up in a big scaly bed to sleep with Vishnu and his wife and he's often reincarnated to walk the earth with Vishnu's avatars, including Krishna. HE GIVES SNAKES A GOOD REP AT LAST❤
When Joshua conquered the promised land and killed every man woman boy and non virgin girl , is executing prisoners really different than a human sacrifice?
I would greatly like to discuss these gods with you and their nuances; as a near lifelong studying animist, I see several things about the discussed gods that were missed or incorrect. None of that invalidates your point, not in the slightest. But if you want discuss some of the better historical understandings about deities from antiquity, I’d have so much fun with that conversation. I am, I’m afraid, not very familiar with the gods here from unbroken living religions, except for an okay grasp of Shinto. I’m a trained archaeologist and I delight in ancient stuff.
I am a follower of Lord Thoth. God of Knowledge, writing, medicine, and magic. I'm a firm believer that knowledge is the key to better understanding not only ourselves, but the world around us, the universe as a whole, and our places within it. That with knowledge we can become kinder, wiser and bring not only ourselves but the others around us up.
I think that Yahweh is a combination of harsh desert (where genocidal war could be actually a good strategy of survival), tribal pride and envy to more advanced civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
I love the idea for this video! I would definitely nominate Lugh from Irish mythology. He's a god of justice but also of skill and practice, called Master Craftsman for a reason. Bonus points for also being a god of harvest (with the late summer festival in his name), 'cause I like to eat and have fun 😁
At the end of days, everyone will come face to face with the divine. Imagine the look on fundamentalists faces when they find out that the one true God is Cardea, the Roman goddess of door hinges. !!
Oh I love this idea. I didn’t know much about any of these other gods, so this was really fascinating. I can’t get enough of your videos. I really like how they challenge me to think about things differently. Sometimes I don’t even realize that my opinions on things are still so heavily influenced by the evangelical church I left behind.
Seriously! Anyone who has not heard MC Yogi’s album Elephant Power (honoring Ganesh) ought to give it a listen. So great! *with brief kudos for Hanuman and Krishna*
I haven't really looked into what the other gods were about. After I left Christianity, I mostly looked at the god claim it's self and not other religions. I liked the overview you gave.
At the end of the day, it looks like fear was a greater motivator than love, learning, and joy. I think it was features like divine punishment and the concept of hell that ultimately led so many people down the route of the Yahweh god. It's honestly a tragedy of humanity that we couldn't be guided by more enlightened ideologies early in human history.
The Tao te Ching was the first non-Christian "religious" I read (I even wrote a collection of poetry based on it), so I have an affinity for Kwan Yin, followed by Ganesha just because.
I had a thought once regarding omnibenevolence, and how it seems like Christians refuse to commit to what that would actually mean. If someone demands personal revelation before they believe, they're quick to say "You don't get to make the rules" or "God doesn't do whatever you demand." But if that were the only way to get them to believe in something so important as to save their eternal soul, perhaps God WOULD cave in to any demand? Perhaps God WOULD grovel and beg? Perhaps God WOULD submit to the ire of ordinary humans? If God is omnipotent, it's not like it can harm God in any way to humiliate himself for the simple goal of earning the belief and love of one of his creations; who cares if he "doesn't have to earn" their love, he'd do it anyway because he loves them so much! Christians in fact DO believe their God was willing to humiliate himself at least once, so why won't he do it again and again, as many times as is needed? If God's pride is greater than his love, then he's hardly all-loving.
Just a few words as someone with a soft spot for the Norse pantheon: the Norse afterlife is not exactly a "negative" one: The endless fights are to allow you to get better at fighting, so you'll be prepared for the big fight at the end times. Yes, this is an afterlife in which you still get BETTER at things! (If the Norse afterlife was real, I reckon there might be some people teaching the old-timers about FPV drones nowdays) Also, after every day's fighting, your "body" gets restored and you get to party, maybe exchange a few words with the guy who brained you today. Another thing many may not have realized is that the Norse Gods will pick anyone who died valiantly in a fight, and they do mean ANYONE. No chosen people, no favored side, no rewarding the (militarily) "winners". Be brave and honorable and you WILL be chosen. This also means two people who were bitter foes in the mortal life will have a chance and a motive to hash things out in the afterlife, since they will have to fight for the same side this time. And a trivia: Some old nordic warriors too infirmed to get out of bed will ask for a sword and a friend, then ask the friend to kill them while they are holding their sword. This means they technically "died in a fight" against their friend, and get to lawyer their way to Odin.
Glad you picked Dionysus! I would call myself a follower of his ways. Got to enjoy the parts between and try and free others if you can! Pleasure shouldn’t be looked down on. Shouldn’t put limits on this life that’s already got limits.
IF I were going to be into a deity it would definitely be Krishna. He cloned himself into 100 manifestations of himself and made love to 100 milkmaids *in the manner which would most please each of them!* That’s a deity I can get behind! I’m fond of Athena, too. And I’ve been a fan of Kwan Yin for most of my life. You’ve picked some really good ones. Great video and nice change of pace.
@@OldMotherLogo Sorry but those were fringe stories added later on. Mahabharata was the prime source of information about krishna. And every other book was just like a sequel to a great movie
@@infinity8288they are part of the 18 Puranas which are not fringe stories they are Smriti and hold religious importance. Also he doesn't have sex with them his pleasure is beyond the 5 senses . It was transcendental bliss and they were simply dancing. Krishna doesn't sleep with any of the gopis. Including Radha because she is married
Funny how I ended up a pagan years after I left Christianity. the idea of having a higher power was still heavy on my mind for the longest time after deconverting. Tho I wasn't about to serve another being that I'd have to subvert my moral compass to please. I searched through many other religions & practices to find if there was any deities out there that I could agree with the character of. It's kinda amazing to see how religion as a whole evolved through human history.
This is why I was into mythology growing up. So many of the other gods are vibrant, beautiful, interesting and FUN. The Christian god is just a gloomy boring Mary Sue. As somebody that was never indoctrinated Christianity I really don’t see the appeal and looking from the outside in it’s honestly creepy af
I dedicate my books to Apollo and the Muses as a recognition that inspiration is something that I've experienced, and while I don't insist on a supernatural explanation for it, using personal names for it is a way of being grateful for what I'm given and am able to do with it. Odin is a dangerous character, but the fact in the stories that he's willing to give up an eye and to hang on a tree for nine days to gain knowledge and wisdom is good symbolism. And I especially appreciate the sacrifice being for those things, not to beg forgiveness for petty faults. Tengri is the Mongolian god of heaven--of the sky above. In a literal sense, this god is real. "Look at the sky" is a valid apologetic here, though there are more details that go beyond what's easy to demonstrate. Loki/Set/Prometheus want to disrupt the establishment, and Prometheus and Thoth want humans to develop our potential.
Yo it’s me again, I started worshipping the sun 😂 it’s a beautiful hot fluffy ball which is also part of our life, I think I’m slowly drifting towards pantheism. Just wanted to tell you this because honestly while losing my faith in Jesus is heart wrenching I kind of feel "safe" watching your videos because you’ve been through the same and know a lot more about scripture than me, thank you.
When you listed all the things you look for in a god my initial thought was “All of these things are Zarathustra’s Ahura Mazda, they have to make this list.” Great list either way 🙂
Just a clarification - Guan Yin is a bodhisattva which is an enlightened being or Buddha. In a strict Buddhist perspective Guan Yin's not a goddess. Some traditions might..? I'm not 100% I come from a Chinese Zen background and can speak on that tradition. I can say this version of Avalokiteshvara iconography, Guan Yin, is associated as a folk goddess in some cultures. There's more I can add from my Buddhist and art history background if anyone's interested.
Fun topic you brought out. In considering options, one consideration is what form of category is evaluated. I can think of two fundamentally differing aspects. First being what would or does a deity do. Second being what the deity stands for, or inspires. The first category I think has limited value in this context, as all the hypothetical God's would exist in the same reality, so they would be constrained to have done what exists in reality. Putting them in at least similar cases. The second category is what I find interesting. What does the God stand for. What are the followers supposed to strive for. What changes, or improvements does that God tell followers to focus on? In short, does the God belief help it's followers make the word a better place. I think you presented some good answers. I believe Christianity can start with some good fundamentals. Be loving, humble and forgiving. Care for each other, and help out in times of need. Don't be selfish, arrogant or judgmental. How well those are described and implemented could be discussed at length. One area where Christianity falls short, is in a tendency to paint everything in strict dichotomies. When you try to see everything as a pure dichotomy, it's impossible to see its' true nature. It also seems to inspire need to create some personified antagonist. Demons, devils, witches, or something external to point fingers at the scary other. It creates powerful distractions from self examinations, and understanding our nature with all the complex drives and impulses that make us who we are. It can present a profound hurdle to understanding ourselves. And without understanding ourselves, improving ourselves is that much harder. The belief that a goal of an absolute perfection is the achievable goal, can set unrealistic, if not impossible expectations. I think even painting a God in such dichotomies presents a number of problems.
I really liked this video, and I'd love to see you delve deeper into other myths and religions like that. Perhaps "Divine Alternatives: 10 Aterlives I'd Prefer Over Heaven and Hell" next? :p Keep up the good work. PS: Just recently discovered your channel and I like it a lot. I love the format of your videos and the way you address these topics. The world needs this kind of output!
Great video honestly loved it but I'm somewhat offended you didn't include Thoth😩 he would've been my no.1, but either way great video and congrats on the 10k subs🎉
Ha! Master of knowledge and a moon god! Trust me hes up there but when it came to egypt i wanted a goddess to round the list out and to show a god who was ok wit sex. Maybe a part 2 with another 10 gods some other time. Thanks for the congrats!
Fun Fact: The original Yahweh wasn't even a Christian deity. It was entirely pagan. He was originally a more minor deity of warfare and storms. Nothing like the adaptation we have today.
Pagan here. On the topic of the Norse afterlives, our knowlege of what the Norse truly believed and practiced is somewhat murky, as we have no primary sources of myth. All we have to reconstruct are interpretations of the oral traditions translated and written down by non-Pagans long after the conversion era ended. As a result, it's subject to a lot of debate as with many other aspects of Norse myth. But the general consensus is that Hel isn't a "negative" afterlife, and Valhalla isn't quite the Norse equivalent of heaven. Only the greatest of warriors who are slain in battle have a chance at Valhalla, but the goddess Freyja gets first pick of the fallen and takes them to her domain of Folkvangr. To most regular people, Valhalla would not be a desirable afterlife AT ALL. That's why it's believed that the majority of people will go to Hel after they die, which is just a neutral and peaceful plain of existence. A lot of the misconceptions come from the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, whose work while nonetheless important in the study of comparative religion and useful towards the reconstruction of Norse myth, is rightfully criticized to death for his heavily on-the-nose Christian bias.
Let's see, umm... the evil half of some dualistic theologies, such as some forms of zoroastrianism, Marcionite christianity (although that one's literally Yahway, I don't know many dualistic religions), or the fantasy series The Wheel Of Time. There MIGHT be an Aztec god as malevolent as Yahway, although I know that at least the main one needs the sacrifices as fuel to keep the world from ending rather than just enjoying them. So that seems like a limited god doing the best they can with what's available. Lovecraft's menagerie of evil gods? Cthulu is explicitly a "god friendly to humanity", a patron who has protected humans from other species in the past. He's in line with the tribal god of much of the bible. Hard to tell who's worse without more unbiased information on them. Azathoth is probably not sentient, so doesn't have Yahway's intentional cruelty. Etc.
Kuan Yin I've always viewed....almost kin with a saint. She's always interested me as a compassionate character, I've got a statue of her, as well as one of those "oracle decks", mostly because i love the art and the little meditations about each of her aspects. Even if i don't believe in the divine, in any sort, she has always been one of my favorite mythological characters. She split her head in three trying to help, her arms shattered trying to help everyone. We could all use a little bit of her levels of compassion as people.
I'm a fan of Kuan Yin. I had a D&D character that was a blind priestess of Kuan Yin from Kara-tur. (Very good for healing and defense, less good for offense, which isn't so bad if you're playing a pacifist.) *D&D was my introduction to other religions,* and once read how some religions require the faithful to be zealots, etc, crazy! I picked Kuan Yin because I thought it would be funny to let the rest of my group fight, not get involved unless someone got hurt. I secretly had some fighting skills, but I didn't tell them that. 😅 I have a "PlaneScape" cosmology (D&D worlds where Gods dwell, like to actually visit Valhalla to get your old buddy back, etc) in my mind with it comes to God(s), based on *multiverse theory.* The agnostic in me accepts the idea of possible God-entities in the multiverse, this would even possibly make our universe nothing more than a young god's science project. Entities from outside our understanding of "nature" (outside our universe and laws of physics) would appear to us as "supernatural." I could accept that cosmology as a possibility, but I see no proof of it whichever way.
I'd be more willing to worship Yahweh if he didn't claim to be better than he actually is. It's one thing to be a terrible, unjust, evil, etc, god, but it's another to be those things and act like you're not and expect your followers to believe you're good.
This was so good. Thank you. I really like the Japanese goddess and I always liked Krishna. I even had some Krishna friends and visited Newverdaben. Heri Krishna! 🙂
Hi Brandon! That was entertaining and interesting. I've always been partial to Athena and Freya. (Sometimes I tell Christians I am an Athenist, which they mistake for atheist). But now I might ad Hathor to my pantheon. It makes life interesting.
If I would follow and worship a higher being it would be Chaos from Hellenism. They don't do anything. They just created Night (Nyx) and Darkness (Erebos). After that they don't do anything ever, they are just the void
