Non-Theistic Religious World Views

1
Non-Theistic Religious World Views

• Remember that you were at that time separate
  from Christ, and strangers from the covenants of
  promise, having no hope and without God in the
  world Eph 212

2
Animism religion of non-literate tribal peoples

• Belief that personalized supernatural beings or
  souls inhabit all objects and govern their
  existence
• Est. 100 million tribal people in thousands of
  tribes on major continents and islands
• Simply stated Everything is alive, everything
  is conscious or everything has a soul.
• In this world view humans are denizen, or part of
  nature, rather than superior to or separate from
  nature.
• In these societies, ritual is vital for survival
  it wins favor of the spirits of ones source of
  food, shelter and fertility and keeps malignant
  spirits away.
• Good luck is the result of spirits being
  pleased
• Most animistic belief systems believe the spirit
  survives physical death
• Some believe the spirit pass to an easier world
  of abundant game

3
Animism includes

• Rituals, such as rites of passage (relating to
  birth, puberty, marriage, death, etc) are
  performed by shamans, witchdoctor or priests
  who usually are seen as possessing unusual powers
  (healing, curses, transmigration of soul as in a
  Jaguar).
• No distinction between physical and unseen
  spiritual worldwhat happens in one, effects the
  other. Physical world worshiped as Mother Earth,
  everything is alive.
• Clan feasts, magic, myths and legends, fertility
  cults, and fetishism
• Priests/shamans/witch doctors, mana (impersonal
  supernatural life force that permeates universe)
  and rules over all creation, though not
  controlled by gods or man
• Unseen forces include supernatural powers like
  fate, cosmic moral order, evil eye, magic and
  witchcraft.
• Impersonal energy forces or spirits in objects
  give the objects power to do good or evil
• Totemism and veneration of the dead

4
Basic Themes in Animism

• Community-centered life Ancestors, living and
  unborn are center of life. Life meaning is only
  in the context of a community
• Role of Spirit world Humans surrounded by
  supernatural beings and forces, mostly hostile
• Focus on the present seek to deal with success
  and failure, power and knowledge to control life
• Focus on power life is constant struggle against
  spirits, other humans and supernatural
  forceslife goal is to control these forces
• Pragmatism science and learning is only valuable
  if secures a good, meaningful life and protects
  from evil

5
Basic Themes in Animism

• Transformation and Transmigration Spirits can
  take the form of animals or plants Shamans in a
  trance can travel distances (Jaguar), harm
  enemies and even to spirit world to find
  information, etc
• Holistic view of life invoking good luck,
  avoiding bad luck involves every aspect of life
  (what you eat, dress, furniture, greetings, etc)
• Particularism People are tied to their land,
  their gods gave it and give victories and
  defeats are attributed to territorial gods
• Fear In a world of spirits, omens and spells,
  life is rarely secure. People turn to their
  ancestors, gods and spirits for protection

6
Other Characteristics

• Trance altered state of consciousness or
  awareness. Such altered states of consciousness
  include
• Channeling receiving messages or inspiration
  from an invisible spirit, e.g. angels or Jesus
• Dreams seeing things as though they were real,
  imagination
• Premonitions future events, often calamitous in
  nature are foreknown via psychic experience
• Euphoria an intensely good feeling
• Ecstasy experience being outside of ones self,
  a heightened capacity for exceptional thought ,
  profound emotional experience, extraordinary
  physical abilities or one might make a spiritual
  journey in an ecstatic trance with the cessation
  of voluntary bodily movement.
• Note This is a major activity of shamans, who
  use trances to travel to other places, underworld
  to interact with spirits, clairvoyance and
  healing. These can be induce by drugs, rituals,
  music, dance, ascetic practices or visual designs
  as aids to mental disciplines In Buddhism there
  will be 8 states of trances or absorption into
  Nirvana.

7
Other Characteristics

• Clairvoyance or extra-sensory perception (ESP) is
  not unusual, where a person receives information
  through unexplainable means. This can be through
  telepathy (one mind to your mind without
  speaking) or precognition (gaining information
  about places and events in the future).
• Apparitions of spirits of the dead, God or Satan
• Wraith, an apparition of a living person, as an
  omen, that the person is about to die (e.g. Lord
  of the Rings)
• Hallucinations false sensory perception of the
  unseen world, often intentionally induced by
  drugs.

8
Necrolatry (worship of the dead)

• Teach that people possess immortal soulsat death
  soul is free to wander near the grave, continue
  to participate in the lives of the family
• Neglecting to reverence them could bring sever
  consequences
• They are the founders of the family, clan or
  tribe and remain interested. Must be consulted
  in decisions.
• They help the living through dreams, necromancers
  and visions
• Some have accomplished great achievements which
  must be celebrated- in time exaggerated to be
  gods
• Animists believe that they protect the family
• The spirits function as mediators between God and
  the family

9
Necrolatry (worship of the dead)

• Ones happiness in the afterlife depends on the
  care given by ones descendantsForgotten by
  family means extinction!
• Feel the need to keep them favorably inclined
  toward the living by following appropriate
  rituals, dances or diet
• This is especially true of those who die
  unnaturally
• Such a spirit might return to haunt the living
  as a ghost searching for a body to inhabit or
  bring harm
• By appropriate ceremonies they can help them on
  to the land of the dead

10
Spirit Worship

• Most animistic religions teach a Supreme God, but
  he has withdrawn from creation and cannot be
  known personally. Once was close but His anger
  with man made Him removed Himself
• He then left men to their own devices and lesser
  gods or spirits to accomplish His purposes
• A host of evil spirits inhabit the earth, air,
  fire, storms, business, marriage, death, water,
  trees, mountains and animal life
• The whole of life is governed by taboos and
  rituals designed to placate, manipulate and keep
  away the spirits

11
Shamanism

• The witch doctor (black or white) serves as
  mediator, but can live separate from tribe
• He knows the proper sacrifices and incantations
  or rituals that will please the spirits
• Called upon in times of sickness
• In many tribes he is the chief (if white witch
  doctor, that is, a healer)
• Some rituals can last 24 hours or longer and must
  be followed without error or become an offense

12
Basic Practices of Animism

1. Numerous taboos or prohibitions, to preserve the
   harmony between spirit and physical world
2. Sacred places of worship or contact with spirit
   world
3. Sacred things possess power and are potentially
   dangerous (stones, jewelry, plants, insects,
   carved images)
4. Sacred actions includes sacrifices of animals or
   plants. Shamans perform sacred rites, omens
   (origin of God bless you after a sneeze)

13
Basic Practices of Animism

1. Sacred words many oaths, curses and blessings,
   spells of white and black witchcraft possess
   sacred power, mana.
2. Sacred persons witches use their powers for good
   and evil, to protect their community, heal or
   kill enemies, inject foreign bodies. Many believe
   they can transpose themselves into animals, i.e.
   Jaguar
3. Sacred rituals performed regularly either by
   head of family or witchdoctor can be brief or a
   long enactment of a legend in a dance
4. Practice of magic and divination casting of
   spells and communication with spirit world is
   reserved for shamans

14
Magic

• Often the spirit is not a personal thing, but
  an impersonal force of nature
• Magical beliefs and practices are developed to
  use these forces resident in nature for their own
  purposes
• Imitative magic seeks to bring harm to an enemy
  by attacking a representation of him (voodoo
  doll)
• Contagious magic depend on the connection between
  a person and something associated with him (hair
  clippings, nail parings, or feces)
• Magic is used for good as well blood of hunted
  animal can be drunk for strength.
• Cannibalism is practiced to gain the power of the
  enemy

15
Fetishism

• A natural object believed to have supernatural
  powers, or an object created by people that has
  power over people. (i.e. Voodoo)
• Charms, amulets or fetishes are seen as inhabited
  by spiritual energy or force (not a personal
  spirit)
• Such charms are not limited to animistic tribes
• Many have superstitious charms for good luck

16
Naturism

• Personification and worship of forces of nature
  (sun, moon, stars, fire, volcanoes, storms or
  animals)
• Ideas are evident in higher religions, such as
  sacred cow of Hindus or sacred mountain of
  Japanese Shinto
• Sometimes hard to distinguish magical practices
  and naturism (except in later nature is actually
  worshipped)
• Commonly naturism develops into idolatry and
  polytheism
• Much of naturism relates to fertility in
  agriculture and sexual relations rituals and
  sacrifices are intended to guarantee fertility

17
Totemism

• The totem is usually an animal or other
  naturalistic figure that spiritually represents a
  person or a clan
• Comes from American Indian word for
  brother-sister-kin to emphasize the unity of
  the clan with some sacred plant or animal
• This is the aspect of the continuity between
  human life and nature around him
• The totem animal or plant is sacred to the tribe
  and must not be eaten except at special
  ceremonial feasts, if at all

18
Conclusion of Animism

• The whole life is pervaded with fear which
  governs nearly all activities
• May have a concept of a Creator God, but he is
  aloof and indifferent from human affairs
• No absolutes of moralitysin is seen as violation
  of culture, taboos, custom and natural forces
• Lack of personal relationship with God causes a
  fatalistic attitude since all events of life are
  predetermined and controlled by nature or demons
• Rom 121-25 imply Noahs descendants once knew
  God, but degenerated into animistic practices
• Houghton, The common essence of heathenism is
  not a denying of Godbut an ignoring of Him in
  worship of natural powers and mysterious demonic
  powers through magic and magical sacrifices and
  ceremonies. (A.T. Houghton, Animism in The
  Worlds Religions, ed. J. N. D. Anderson, 1st ed.
  (1951), p. 9.

19
Overcoming Animism

• Fear is the major disposition
• One is never sure if a taboo has been broken
• Animism includes feared practices sorcery,
  magic, voodoo, curses
• Converts will only be free when their minds are
  transformed with Gods Word
• There is only one God Isa 4310, You are my
  witnesses and my servant whom I have chosen, so
  that you may know and believe me and understand
  that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor
  will there be one after me. There is no
  pantheon of gods
• In the Bible God forbids the animistic practices
  of witchcraft, necromancy, magic and worship of
  foreign spirits Deut 1810
• No need to live in fear of hostile spirit beings
  and spells (Col 215, He disarmed the powers and
  authorities, making a public spectacle of them,
  triumphing over them by the cross.
• Psa 911, He who dwells in the shelter of the
  Most High will rest in the shadow of the
  Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my
  refuge and my fortress, my God whom I trust.