Worldview of Gods 1
Chapter 2: Reason of Polytheism 01/07
Among the various worldviews, one of the most distinctive is the worldview centered on “God.” This God-centered way of thinking can be divided into two forms: “monotheism” and “polytheism.” The “monotheism,” as seen in Christianity and Islam, posits a single God who encompasses all things in this world. In contrast, the “polytheism”—as exemplified by Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Japan’s “Yaoyorozu” (eight million) gods—holds that the world is sustained by gods who symbolize natural objects, natural phenomena, and human attributes, each influencing the world according to their respective attributes. The latter category may also include faith in heroes who were deified from real historical figures. It can be said that the former corresponds to an “Abstracted Worldview,” while the latter corresponds to a “Symbolized Worldview.”
In this chapter, we will examine the polytheistic aspects of this God-centered worldview. Since the scope of mythology and religion is vast and it is impossible to cover everything, I intend to focus primarily on the Book of Genesis. This is because the Book of Genesis describes how the world came into being, and I believe it is the part that most vividly reflects the worldview of mythology and religion.
Since polytheistic forms have, for the most part, been absorbed into universal religions in various ways, it can be said that many of them now survive more as “myths” than as “religions.” Nowadays, polytheistic myths are often read more like novels than as religious texts, and because their religious overtones have faded, there are cases where people unconsciously come to regard them as mere folktales. As examples of such polytheistic traditions, this chapter will examine the relatively well-known “Greek mythology” and “the deities of Shinto.”
In this chapter, we will examine the polytheistic aspects of this God-centered worldview. Since the scope of mythology and religion is vast and it is impossible to cover everything, I intend to focus primarily on the Book of Genesis. This is because the Book of Genesis describes how the world came into being, and I believe it is the part that most vividly reflects the worldview of mythology and religion.
Since polytheistic forms have, for the most part, been absorbed into universal religions in various ways, it can be said that many of them now survive more as “myths” than as “religions.” Nowadays, polytheistic myths are often read more like novels than as religious texts, and because their religious overtones have faded, there are cases where people unconsciously come to regard them as mere folktales. As examples of such polytheistic traditions, this chapter will examine the relatively well-known “Greek mythology” and “the deities of Shinto.”