In the two prior posts, I showed how polytheism, which is a belief in multiple gods or forms of divinity, is the form of Theism that makes the most sense. This begs the question of what is meant by gods in polytheistic thought?
Disclaimer: I’m a hard polytheist, meaning I believe that the gods are independent entities with their own personalities. This viewpoint, therefore, colors what follows.
Regular readers will recognize some of what I’ve written here. I covered gods in a series of blog posts back in September, 2022.
According to Stephen Dillon, author of The Case for Polytheism, a god or goddess has three defining characteristics. The first characteristic is disembodied consciousness, meaning that all gods are spirits. However, while all gods are spirits, not all spirits are gods. The second characteristic is that gods are more knowledgeable than we are. This isn’t unique to gods because many spiritual entities have greater knowledge than humans. The third characteristic of gods is that they have what Dillon calls “remarkable greatness.”
The best way to understand remarkable greatness is the awe and wonder one experiences in a god’s presence. It’s common for people to report feeling both fear and attraction simultaneously when encountering a god. It’s this experience that distinguishes gods from the other spirits.
Many people often consider the word “god” synonymous with “deity.” However, they’re not the same. A deity is any entity one considers sacred and worthy of veneration. Not all deities are gods; not all gods are deities.
These three posts barely scrape the surface of the subject of gods. You can find more of my thoughts about this and other subjects in my book, The Philosophy of Dark Paganism.
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