PANENTHEISM

Panentheism (from Greek πᾶν (pân) "all"; ἐν (en) "in"; and θεός (Theós) "God"; "all-in-God") is a belief system
which posits that God exists and interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well.
Panentheism is distinguished from pantheism, which holds that God is synonymous with the material universe.[1]
In Panentheism, God is viewed as creator and/or animating force behind the universe, and the source of universal
truth. This concept of God is closely associated with the Logos as stated in the 5th century BC works of Heraclitus
(ca. 535–475 BC), in which the Logos pervades the cosmos and whereby all thoughts and things originate; e.g., "He
who hears not me but the Logos will say: All is one." A similar thought espoused by Jesus and interpreted by the
New Thought movement as being synonymous: "The Father and I are one." (John 10:30)
While pantheism asserts that God and the universe are coextensive, Panentheism claims that God is greater than the
universe and that the universe is contained within God. Panentheism holds that God is the "supreme affect and
effect" of the universe.

PANTHEISM
Pantheism is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the Universe, or
nature, and God are equivalent. More detailed definitions tend to emphasize the idea that natural law, existence, and
the Universe (the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be) is represented in the theological principle of an abstract
'god' rather than a personal, creative deity or deities of any kind. This is the key feature which distinguishes them
from panentheists and pandeists. As such, although many religions may claim to hold pantheistic elements, they are
more commonly panentheistic or pandeistic in nature.

HENOTHEISM
Henotheism (Greek εἷς θεός heis theos "one god") is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a single
primary god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities. Müller stated that henotheism
means "monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact".[citation needed] He made the term a center of his criticism
of Western theological and religious exceptionalism (relative to Eastern religions), focusing on a cultural dogma
which held "monotheism" to be both fundamentally well-defined and inherently superior to differing conceptions of
God.
Variations on the term have been inclusive monotheism and monarchical polytheism, designed to differentiate
differing forms of the phenomenon. Related terms are monolatrism and kathenotheism, which are typically
understood as sub-types of henotheism. The latter term is an extension of "henotheism", from καθ’ ἕνα θεόν (kath'
hena theon) —"one god at a time". Henotheism is similar but less exclusive than monolatry because a monolator
worships only one god, while the henotheist may worship any within the pantheon, depending on circumstances. In
some belief systems, the choice of the supreme deity within a henotheistic framework may be determined by
cultural, geographical, historical or political reasons.

KATHENOTHEISM
Kathenotheism is a term coined by the philologist Max Müller to mean the worship of one god at a time. It is
closely related to monolatrism and polytheism. Müller originally coined the term in reference to the Vedas; he
argued there are different supreme gods at different times. Kathenotheism is sometimes distinguished as follows: a
monolatrist worships only one God during their whole life (assuming they do not undergo a conversion); while they
accept that other gods exist they do not worship them.

MONOLATRISM
Monolatrism or monolatry (Greek: μόνος (monos) = single, and λατρεία (latreia) = worship) is the recognition of
the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity.[1] Monolatry is not the same thing as
Henotheism, which is the belief in and worship of one God without at the same time denying that others can with
equal truth worship different gods. The primary difference between the two is that monolatry is the worship of one
god who alone is worthy of worship, though other gods are known to exist, while henotheism is the worship of one
god, not precluding the existence of others who may also be worthy of praise. The term was perhaps first used by
Julius Wellhausen.

MONOTHEISM
In theology, monotheism (from Greek μόνος "one" and θεός "god") is the belief in the existence of one deity, or in
the oneness of God.[1] In a Western context, the concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of
the god of the Abrahamic religions and the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the
Areopagite.
The concept of monotheism has largely been defined in contrast with polytheistic religions, and monotheism tends
to overlap with other Unitary concepts, such as monism.
Whereas monotheism is a self-description of religions subsumed under this term, there is no equivalent self-
description for polytheist religions: monotheism asserts itself by opposing polytheism, while polytheism does not
use the same argumentative device, as it includes a concept of divine unity despite worshipping a plethora of gods.
By the same token, monotheistic religions may still include concepts of a plurality of the divine, for example the
Trinity, in which God is one being in three personal dimensions (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
Additionally, Christians believe Jesus to have two natures (divine and human), each possessing the full attributes of
that nature, without mixture or intermingling of those attributes. Although Christian theology reserves worship for
the Divine, the distinction between worshipping the divine nature of Jesus but not the human nature of Jesus can be
difficult for non-Christians (and even Christian laity) to follow.
Christians of a catholic tradition venerate the Saints among them Mary as human beings that had remarkable
qualities, have lived their faith in God to the extreme and continue to assist in the process of salvation for others.

DEISM
Deism is the belief that there is a God that created the physical universe but does not interfere with it. It is related to
a religious philosophy and movement that derives the existence and nature of God from reason. (The mention of
God in this article is meant more as a Creator than as the Abrahamic God.) It takes no position on what God may do
outside the universe. That is in contrast to fideism which is found in many forms of Christianity. Islamic and Judaic
teachings hold that religion relies on revelation in sacred scriptures or the testimony of other people as well as
reasoning. Deists often use the analogy of God as watchmaker.
Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God does not intervene
with the affairs of human life and the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation
and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources. Deists
believe that God's greatest gift to humanity is not religion, but the ability to reason.
Deism became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment, especially in the United
Kingdom, France and the United States, mostly among those raised as Christians who found they could not believe
in either a triune God, the divinity of Jesus, miracles, or the inerrancy of scriptures, but who did believe in one God.
Initially it did not form any congregations, but in time deism led to the development of other religious groups, such
as Unitarianism, which later developed into Unitarian Universalism. It continues to this day in the form of classical
deism and modern deism.

FIDEISM
Fideism is the view that religious belief relies primarily on faith or special revelation, rather than rational inference
or observation (see natural theology). The word fideism comes from fides, the Latin word for faith, and literally
means faith-ism.
Several philosophers and theologians have articulated the idea that faith is more important, or valid, or virtuous,
than reason in theology. One can use different criteria for judging statements belonging to the sphere of religion
than other areas. As a result, theology may include logical contradictions without apology.
According to some versions of fideism, reason is the antithesis of some faiths; according to others, faith is prior to
or beyond reason, and therefore ought not to be influenced by it.
Religions have responded differently to fideism. Support of fideism is most commonly associated with four
philosophers: Pascal, Kierkegaard, William James, and Wittgenstein. Others, like Socrates and St. Augustine, spent
their lives stressing the importance of thinking critically.

MONISM
Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is one, that all reality (including God) is subsumed under
the most fundamental category of being or existence.
Monism is to be distinguished from dualism, which holds that ultimately there are two kinds of substance, and from
pluralism, which holds that ultimately there are many kinds of substance.
Monism characterizes pantheism, panentheism, and some Hindu concepts of an immanent transcendental God. The
concepts
of absolutism, the monad, and the "Universal substrate" are closely related.

DUALISM
In philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter, which begins with
the claim that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical.
Ideas on mind/body dualism originate at least as far back as Plato and Aristotle and deal with speculations as to the
existence of an incorporeal soul which bore the faculties of intelligence and wisdom. Plato and Aristotle maintained,
for different reasons, that people's "intelligence" (a faculty of the mind or soul) could not be identified with, or
explained in terms of, their physical body.
A generally well known version of dualism is attributed to René Descartes (1641), which holds that the mind is a
nonphysical substance. Descartes was the first to clearly identify the mind with consciousness and self-awareness
and to distinguish this from the brain, which was the seat of intelligence. Hence, he was the first to formulate the
mind-body problem in the form in which it exists today. Dualism is contrasted with various kinds of monism,
including physicalism and phenomenalism. Substance dualism is contrasted with all forms of materialism, but
property dualism may be considered a form of emergent materialism and thus would only be contrasted with non-
emergent materialism. This article discusses the various forms of dualism and the arguments which have been made
both for and against this thesis.

PLURALISM
Pluralism is the name of entirely unrelated positions in metaphysics and epistemology. In metaphysics, pluralism
claims a plurality of basic substances making up the world; in epistemology, pluralism claims that there are several
conflicting but still true descriptions of the world.
The concept of pluralism in philosophy indicates the belief that reality consists of many different substances. It sits
in contrast with the concepts of monism and dualism in metaphysics.
Pluralism in epistemology is the position that there is not one consistent set of truths about the world, but rather
many. Often this is associated with pragmatism, cultural relativism, and conceptual relativism. In the case of
conceptual relativism, the argument claims that since there is no right way to carve up the world into concepts (e.g.
what counts as an element), there will be several mutually exclusive complete and true descriptions of the world. In
the case of cultural relativism, the argument claims that since truth is relative to culture, there will be several
mutually exclusive complete and true descriptions of the world. In the case of pragmatism, the argument claims that
since truth is connected to successful action, and success is connected to the goals set by our interests, the correct
set of truths will be relative to our interests. Hilary Putnam (a harsh critic of cultural relativism) is fond of the
example, "how many objects are there in the world?" Putnam argues that what counts as an object cannot be
determined objectively but rather only relative to someone's interests, therefore the true number of objects in the
world will change relative to whose interests we have in sight.

HEDONISM
Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit. The name derives
from the Greek word for "delight" (ἡδονισμός hēdonismos from ἡδονή hēdonē "pleasure" + suffix ισμός ismos
"ism."
The basic idea behind hedonistic thought is that pleasure is the only thing that is good for a person. This is often
used as a justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they
produce. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximise this total pleasure (pleasure minus pain). The
nineteenth-century British philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham defended the ethical theory of
Utilitarianism, according to which we should perform whichever action is best for everyone. Conjoining hedonism,
as a view as to what is good for people, to utilitarianism has the result that all action should be directed toward
achieving the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Though consistent in their pursuit of
happiness, Bentham and Mill’s versions of hedonism differ. There are two somewhat basic schools of thought on
hedonism:
 One school, grouped around Jeremy Bentham, defends a quantitative approach. Bentham believed that the
value of a pleasure could be quantitatively understood. Essentially, he believed the value of a pleasure to be its
intensity multiplied by its duration - so it was not just the number of pleasures, but their intensity and how long
they lasted that must be taken into account.
 Other proponents, like John Stuart Mill argue a qualitative approach. Mill believed that there can be
different levels of pleasure - higher quality pleasure is better than lower quality pleasure. Mill also argues that
simpler beings (he often references pigs) have an easier access to the simpler pleasures; since they do not see
other aspects of life, they can simply indulge in their pleasures. The more elaborate beings tend to spend more
thought on other matters and hence lessen the time for simple pleasure. It is therefore more difficult for them to
indulge in such "simple pleasures" in the same manner.
Modern day hedonists strive firstly, as their predecessors, for pleasure. But also, hedonists feel that people should
be equal, and that the way to achieve that is through allowing much more personal freedom. Hedonists, in the words
of an organization known as Hedonist International, "want joyful togetherness, anarchy, epicurean ideas,
multifaceted joy, sensuality, diversion, friendship, justice, tolerance, freedom, sexual freedom, sustainability, peace,
free access to information, the arts, a cosmopolitan existence, and a world without borders or discrimination, and
everything else that is wonderful but not a reality today. "(Hedonist Manifesto)

ANIMISM
The term animism (from Latin anima - soul, life) commonly refers to belief systems that attribute souls or spirits to
animals, plants and other entities, in addition to humans. Animism may also attribute souls to natural phenomena,
geographic features, everyday objects and manufactured articles. Religions which emphasise animism in this sense
include Shinto, Hinduism and "pagan" faiths such as folk religions and Neopaganism.
More generally, animism is simply the belief in souls. In this general sense, animism is present in nearly all
religions. British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor argued in Primitive Culture (1871) that this belief was
the most primitive and essential part of religion.[3] Though animism itself is not a religion in the usual Western
sense, some scholars believe that it contains the foundations on which religions are built.

SHAMANISM
Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit
world. Practitioners of shamanism are known as shamans. There are many variations of shamanism throughout the
world, though there are some beliefs that are shared by all forms of shamanism:
 That spirits can play important roles in human lives.
 The shaman can control and/or cooperate with the spirits for the community's benefit.
 The spirits can be either good or bad.
 Shamans engage various processes and techniques to incite trance; such as: singing, dancing, taking
entheogens, meditating and drumming.
 Animals play an important role, acting as omens and message-bearers, as well as representations of animal
spirit guides.
 The shaman's spirit leaves the body and enters into the supernatural world during certain tasks.
 The shamans can treat illnesses or sickness; they are healers.
Shamans have the ability to diagnose and cure human suffering and, in some societies, the ability to cause suffering.
This is believed to be accomplished by traversing the axis mundi and forming a special relationship with, or gaining
control over, spirits. Shamans have been credited with the ability to control the weather, divination, the
interpretation of dreams, astral projection, and traveling to upper and lower worlds. Shamanistic traditions have
existed throughout the world since prehistoric times.
Some anthropologists and religious scholars define a shaman as an intermediary between the natural and spiritual
world, who travels between worlds in a state of trance. Once in the spirit world, the shaman would commune with
the spirits for assistance in healing, hunting or weather management. Ripinsky-Naxon describes shamans as,
“People who have a strong interest in their surrounding environment and the society of which they are a part.”
Other anthropologists critique the term "shamanism", arguing that it is a culturally specific word and institution and
that by expanding it to fit any healer from any traditional society it produces a false unity between these cultures
and creates a false idea of an initial human religion predating all others. However, some others say that these
anthropologists simply fail to recognize the commonalities between otherwise diverse traditional societies.
Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits that affect the
lives of the living. In contrast to animism and animatism, which any and usually all members of a society practice,
shamanism requires specialized knowledge or abilities. It could be said that shamans are the experts employed by
animists and animist communities. Shamans are often organized into full-time ritual or spiritual associations, like
priests. In Indian culture as well there are those who are called tantrics and are said to have the power to control
spirits and force them to do their bidding. People often visit them for many reasons but most often it is to ensure the
spirit's aid in their work or to curse someone who they feel is an enemy of theirs or opposes them.